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HE WAS HONORED WITH A SEAT BETWEEN MISS JANE BATES AND SALLY BAXTER 


FROM PIT 
TO PALACE 


A Romantip Autobiography 


BY JAMES J. LAWLER 



THE PAI^ACE PUBWSHING COMPANY 
158 Wooster Street New York 



LIBRARY of CONGRKSS 
Two CoDies Received 

JUN 11 1906 



COPYRIGHTED, I906, 

BY 

JAMES J. LAWLER, 

NEW YORK AND LONDON. 

Entered at Stationers* Hall, London. 


DEDICATION. 


To my beloved nephew, Master Francis Carroll: 

I take great pleasure in dedicating this volume, as 
I feel he is a type of the young man described herein, 
with the qualities of self reliance, ambition and per- 
severance, combined with a desire to be an honorable 
and useful man. 


The Author. 


/ 


PREFACE. 


The power that moves the world is a combination 
of genius and ambition. As the chemical combina- 
tion of two or more elements produces certain known 
and wonderful results, so also does the combination 
of genius, ambition and perseverance produce one of 
Nature’s irresistible forces. 

The definition of a self-made man is one who has 
attained wealth, honor or success of any kind by 
his own exertions, and if we observe the nature of 
the man thus honored, we will find him in every in- 
stance to possess the qualities mentioned above. 

The power of ambition combined with a never- 
flinching perseverance can and does move mountains, 
while the young man without these two qualities in 
his make up is worse than nothing to the world; 
such a young man is an obstruction to progress and 
always a care and expense to others ; besides, the bad 
fruits, which he sows in life, usually prove an injury 
to future generations. 

Many biographies have been written of successful 
men who began life under the poorest conditions, 


and while this sketch, which consists of more facts 
than fiction, might appear like repeating an old story, 
we must remember that no two things or sounds are 
alike, nor two experiences the same, and therefore 
each one has its own individual value. The value of 
a sentence spoken does not always lie in what is said, 
but in the effect produced. We may, therefore, in a 
careless manner say and do a great deal that will be 
fruitless and will produce no effect, and this means 
a waste of time and energy. A good illustration of 
this fact is given to us in the sounds of music: — 
For example, each note in the musical staff requires 
a certain number of vibrations in a given time to 
produce the sound by which it is known to the 
trained ear, and this number differs largely from 
that required to produce any other note ; yet there is 
a quality which also differs largely between their 
required vibrations and the effect on the ear, and this 
we notice after listening to music produced by an 
amateur and that of an artist. The same piece of 
music may be played, using exactly the same notes, 
yet the effect produced differs exactly in proportion 
to the difference in rendering the music. 


CONTENTS. 


CKAPTBB P^qjj 

I. * Never Depend on Luck ii 

II. - • Influenced Through Life by Early Observation 17 

III. - Begins Actual Work in a Coal Pit 32 

IV. -Now Obstructed by Loaded Coal Cars ... 47 

V. Janies at the Factory 59 

VI. He Visits at Isaac Jackson’s 67 

VIL There Is No Such Thing as Absolute .Rest . . 83 

VIII. Principles of the Suction Pump 94 

IX. The First Engine Seen by James 107 

X. James Asks More Questions of Isaac Jackson . 114 

XL Romance Begins 123 

XII. Begins Further Studies at Home 133 

XIII. Miss Baxter Drives to Church 142 

XIV. A Disappointment in Store for James .... 152 

XV. James Begins with Greater Determination . . . 163 

XVI. James Becomes a Teacher of Music .... 175 

XVII. James Begins to Dream of Castles 185 

XVIII. Description of the Hydropneumatic Perpetual 

Generator 197 

XIX. The Excursion to Sunderland . . . C' . . . 210 
XX. James Brings Out Another New Invention . . 224 

XXL James Invited to Hedden Hall 236 

XXH. James Makes an Effort to Unfold His Thoughts 

to Miss Baxter 251 

XXIII. A Thrilling Midnight Experience ...... 260 

XXIV. Becomes a Partner in the Factory Business . . 276 
XXV. The Momentous Question 290 


1 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAaa 


/ 


He Was Honored with a Seat Between Miss Jane Bates 

and Sally Baxter Frontispiece 

James Meets His Mother on His Way Home from the 

Mines 52 

Hedden Hall 126 ^ 

James Holds the Squire’s Horse at the Factory Office 

Door . 1 S 3 ^ 

He Caught It in His Right Hand, in Which He Held the 

Bow 174 

Miss Jane Bates . 182 ^ 


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FROM PIT TO PALACE 


BY 

James J. Lawler. 


CHAPTER L 

NEVER DEPEND ON LUCK. 

There is an old saying often repeated, whicH 
reads, “Better to be born lucky than rich,'’ and yet 
there are few who, if they had their choice, would not 
take their chances with the latter, — and I would 
consider their judgment good, as experience proves 
that other old saying to be true, “A bird in the hand 
is worth two in the bush.” Nevertheless, the young 
man blessed with a sound mind and body, combined 
with honesty and ambition, has no reason to regret 
that he was not ushered into this world with a 
silver spoon in his mouth; and as to the matter of 


12 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


luck, I wish to say that there is untold misery and 
suffering due to such foolish dependence. 

Luck is made, not found. Luck is the result of 
knowledge, therefore, if we hope to be lucky in any 
particular direction, we can assist our luck very ma- 
terially by first acquiring the very best knowledge 
possible pertaining to the objects in view. 

A gambler is said to be lucky when he wins a 
large stake at a horse race or at a game of poker, 
which are said to be games of chance; but such is 
not the case. It is not through luck that such stakes 
are won, but through a thorough knowledge of the 
games, due to long training and experience. 

A young man is said to be lucky when he wins the 
affections of the young lady he loves, especially in 
cases where she was known to have had many suit- 
ors; but had the successful young man depended on 
luck alone, his would have been a sad case of disap- 
pointed love. To succeed, never depend on luck, 
and avoid chance work as much as possible, but use 
and depend on your best knowledge and experience 
in everything. 

It was through the power of ambition and 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


13 


knowledge, not luck, that Alexander Graham Bell 
gave the telephone to the world. 

The great achievements of Thomas A. Edison, 
and those of the many other great inventors of the 
present day, can be attributed also to the power of 
ambition and knowledge gained through hard work 
and perseverance. 

If a young man is handicapped by the lack of 
education in his early boyhood days, it simply means 
that to be successful he has double the amount of 
work to perform in later years, and thus deprived of 
a regular school training, both his knowledge and 
his method of acquiring it must differ from that of 
his more fortunate brothers, whose brows are 
adorned with academic laurels. Handicapped by the 
lack of early education, the young man must con- 
sider himself at school, in his every day life, he must 
be an observer of things in general, he should ask 
questions from those who should know how to an- 
swer them, he should be a good listener, as well as 
an observer of actions and then reason matters for 
himself. It was through observing the steam lifting 
the lid of a tea-kettle that Watt invented the steam 


14 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


engine. He saw that there was a power there that 
might be made use of, and soon afterward he proved 
his theory correct by producing the first steam power 
engine of utility. Closely following on the heels of 
Watt’s invention, at a place not far distant from 
the bonnie heathered hills of Scotland, in the village 
of Wylam, Northumberland county, England, a 
young genius by the name of George Stephenson, 
now well known to fame, gave to the world the first 
practical demonstration of the locomotive, which in 
a half century has done more to civilize the world 
than any other achievement known to history, — and 
this was from the brain of an uneducated boy I 
Stephenson did not know how to read at the age of 
eighteen, but before he died, which was at the age of 
sixty-seven years, he had made many important dis- 
coveries and inventions, and was considered one of 
the most learned and able men of his time, and 
besides this he accumulated a large fortune. 

Stephenson attended night school for two years, 
at the end of which time he could read, write and 
cipher fairly well, and while he was employed at 
various occupations around the coal works, he 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


15 


studied mechanics and engineering during his spare 
hours. 

One of Stephenson’s most useful inventions was 
the miner’s safety lamp, which he perfected in the 
year 1815, and which is still in use, not only in the 
pits of England, but also in the coal mines through- 
out the world. 

A brief description of the lamp should be of inter- 
est to the reader, because there are involved in it 
some points of natural philosophy discovered 
through the inventor’s experiments. In coal mines 
where large quantities of gas are found, which come 
from the coal veins, it is dangerous to carry an ex- 
posed flame, for fear of igniting this gas, which ex- 
plodes with a most terrific force when ignited, shak- 
ing the very bowels of earth for miles around the 
coal pits, and has resulted in the loss of thousands of 
miners’ lives. It is, therefore, impossible to hew the 
coal from the subterranean caverns without artificial 
light of some kind, it being beyond the power of the 
sun to penetrate the league or more of earth and 
rock where the slaves toil in everlasting darkness, 
and these are the places where the safety lamps are 
used. 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


i6 

The miners’ safety lamp consists of a cylinder of 
about two and one-half inches in diameter and about 
seven inches high, composed of wire gauze. The bot- 
tom is provided with a small cup to hold oil, and 
fitted with a wick, similar to that of any other oil 
lamp, and while the flame of the lamp burns, throw- 
ing its light through the meshes of its wire-gauzed 
sides, although surrounded on its exterior with the 
deadly fire-damp, no explosion can take place, for 
the reason that combustion cannot be sustained in 
passing through holes which are not larger than a 
twenty-second of an inch square. 

The honors for this invention are divided between 
Stephenson and Sir Humphrey Davie, as they both 
produced practically the same device at the same 
time. Davie was an English chemist, with the ad- 
vantages of a good education. 


CHAPTER 11. 


INFLUENCED THROUGH LIFE BY EARLY OBSERVA- 
TIONS. 

Figuratively speaking, it is often said that the 
atmosphere has much to do with the forming of 
natures, but there is no question in the mind of 
the writer that the average young man is influ- 
enced through life by things observed in his early 
boyhood days, although at the time too young to 
realize their true meaning, and this leads me to 
a place where I must make way to introduce the 
hero of our story, who conceived the idea of utiliz- 
ing the principle involved in Stephenson’s safety 
lamp for atmospheric gas burners to prevent 
explosions. 

The town of Wylam is situated about eighteen 
miles north of the famous city of Newcastle-on- 
Tyne, one of the most prominent cities in the north 
of England, and which takes its name from that 
crazy stream, the River Tyne, whose riplets are 
brought into existence from the melted snows on 


i8 FROM PIT TO PALACE 

the Cheviot Hills of Scotland; and I wish to say 
here that a tour of Scotland is not complete with- 
out a view of those beautiful snow-capped moun- 
tain fields^ where the shepherds may still be seen 
watching their flocks, and appearing at peace with 
the world. Their only neighbors, with whom they 
are always the best of friends, are the good-natured 
clouds, whose pranks often put to test the good 
nature of the shepherd by hiding the flocks from 
his view. 

Although from fifty to sixty miles distant, on a 
clear day the famous hills can be seen by the naked 
eye from the town of Wylam, and, turning in the 
opposite direction, the eye can easily cover the dis- 
tance from here to North Shields or to the mouth of 
the Tyne. Although once the retired, palatial 
homes of ancient chiefs and nobles, the remains of 
whose old castles can yet be seen, the banks of the 
River Tyne are now dotted, as far as navigable, 
with factories and various industrial establishments, 
which give emplo3nient to the young and old of 
both sexes. 

Lementen is the most northern town up the river. 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


19 


where the stream could be called navigable, and 
Wylam, being still eight miles north of this, where 
the water could not be used for transportation pur- 
poses, other provision had to be made to get the 
Wylam coal to Lementen, and this necessity, which 
is so often the mother of invention, prompted 
Stephenson to produce the first locomotive, which 
was called the “Dilley’’ by the natives of the town. 
This new iron horse hauled the coal from Wylam 
to the navigable waters for many years over a rail- 
road track made of wood at first, and afterward 
of short sections of cast-iron rails. 

Wylam being one of the oldest coal-mining towns 
of England, it was natural that the necessity for 
improved machinery would first be felt in this 
locality. Equipped, therefore, with good transport- 
ation facilities to the navigable water of the Tyne 
at Lementen, the village of Wylam soon grew to 
become a town of considerable importance, and 
not the least important occurrence at Wylam in 
these early days — and not only important to this 
little town, but more or less important to all civ- 
ilized nations — was the entering into the world of 


20 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


the son of a poor but noble family, James Raymond. 

Besides the coal mining industry in the town of 
Wylam was that of a blast furnace, where pig iron 
was made from the ore, and it was here that James 
Raymond’s father was employed. Although not 
a tradesman himself, he had several brothers who 
were mechanics, carpenters and joiners by trade, 
from whom it is supposed James inherited his 
mechanical genius. 

At a very early age James began to display 
especial interest in all kinds of machinery, and being 
large for his age, at five he was familiar with every 
department of the blast furnace where his father 
was employed. He had taste for all kinds of boys’ 
sports, and loved music as well as machinery, with a 
desire to excel in them all; but he had not the 
slightest taste or desire for school or book learning 
of any kind in his early boyhood days. 

The village could boast of an excellent school 
even at that period, but it was not a compulsory 
system, as it was the necessary rule for the children 
of poor parents to go to work at the age of seven 
or thereabouts to assist the family in keeping the 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


21 


wolf from the door. As even skilled labor was 
poorly paid, there being but two classes, namely, the 
rich and the poor, the former owning all, it was 
impossible for the latter to do anything but submit 
to any pittance offered them for their labor, and thus 
necessity as much as a desire for work was the 
barrier to James’s schooling; so that his actual time 
at school was less than one term, during which he 
scarcely learned the alphabet. 

By this time in the history of the village of 
Wylam a railroad bridge had been built across the 
River Tyne, which made connections with the North 
British Railroad. This line now skirted the oppo- 
site bank of the river, and covered the distance be- 
tween the city of Newcastle and Edinburgh. It is a 
road noted from the start for its fast trains, the 
speed of which, even in those early days of the 
locomotive, exceeded a mile a minute, and viewing 
these trains moving, or, I should say, flying, up 
and down, from the opposite bank of the river, was 
a sight that always delighted the heart of young 
Raymond, and made him long to know more about 
the wonderful machine that did the work simply by 
the use of some coal and water. 


22 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


The coal beds in the Wylam coal district lay 
very deep below the surface, and many of the shafts 
were several hundreds of feet deep, and this made 
it necessary to use the best and most rapid hoisting 
engines, as well as water pumps, that could be se- 
cured. These engines and pump houses, as well as 
the boiler plants where steam was generated, were 
attractive places for our poor young student, each 
one of which he would visit at frequent intervals, 
and always with a feeling of pleasure. 

This special fondness for anything in the way of 
machinery brought him in contact with the various 
devices used and systems of working at the coal 
pits the place. He became practically familiar 
with every detail connected therewith before he 
arrived at the age of seven. 

Another place where James could often be found 
amusing himself was that of the village blacksmith’s 
shop, where the sound of the anvil was always 
music to him. He felt it a privilege to be allowed to 
blow the bellows, so that he could be as close as 
possible to the smith. There he would watch him 
weld the iron or form a horseshoe, as the case might 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


23 


be, for everything that the smith did was inter- 
esting and pleasing to the boy. 

Before James knew the meaning of expansion 
and contraction of metals he well understood the 
method of setting a cart-wheel tire. This process 
was to heat as much of the iron tire as possible and 
slip it over the wooden rim while even red hot, and 
then cool it as quickly as possible, so that it would 
not burn the wood of the wheel ; but the boy was not 
only a mechanic by nature, he was also a philoso- 
pher, and soon displayed a desire to know the reason 
for everything. 

At that young age James did not know that iron, 
like other matter, was composed of small and dis- 
tinct particles called atoms, which are held together 
by one of Nature’s forces, called cohesion, each one 
of which, in a measure, changes its position under 
the influence of any change of temperature, becom- 
ing larger when made hotter and smaller in size 
when cooled, but he did know that the iron tire of 
the cart-wheel was smaller in diameter after it had 
been cooled than when it was red hot, and, thereby 
becoming small, would press tight against the 


24 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


wooden rim of the wheel, and thus make a perfect 
fit without bolts or anything else to hold it in place. 

Nothing done by the blacksmith escaped the boy’s 
notice, and he soon began to try his hand at the 
work himself. Mr. Gillespie, the village blacksmith, 
was fond of hunting, and always kept a number of 
fine greyhounds, which he used for hare hunting, 
one of the best kinds of English sports, as the coun- 
try was most favorable for the breeding of the hare. 
They shelter in the hedges which divide the fields 
in place of stone walls or wooden fences, as found in 
America; besides, there are practically no woods 
or stump fields, the land being nearly all under 
cultivation. The beautiful fields of sweet clover and 
the acres of toothsome turnips, pears and beans make 
up the principal courses in the table d’hote meals for 
the English hare and rabbit. 

To view the farm lands of England from an 
eminence gives the impression of one large garden 
or park, which, practically speaking, it is, with its 
beautiful hedges, usually of thorn, and clipped 
annually. ’Tis in these thick and almost impene- 
trable hedges that the blackbird, the thrush, the 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


25 


linnet and the wee wren build their nests, while the 
skylark seeks some long, grassy spot in the middle of 
the meadows, where he will have an unobstructed 
view of his nest, into which he tumbles from the 
sky, when his voice is lost among the clouds. There, 
too, are places where the cuckoo loves to coo to 
his mate, while the corncrake enjoys the same priv- 
ileges, and the fleet-footed snipe holds sway along 
the dyke streams, where delicious watercress grows 
in abundance. 

Through these fields the village blacksmith loved 
to roam with his pet greyhounds, whose keen sight 
showed the way for their tall and graceful limbs in 
bringing game to bay. 

Our young, ambitious hero, James, took advan- 
tage of Mr. Gillespie's frequent hunting trips by 
acting as blacksmith himself at such times, begin- 
ning by heating a small piece of iron in the forge 
fire, and then flattening it out on the anvil. By a 
little practice he was soon able to make a staple, 
which was the first article attempted. This he did 
by cutting off a piece of small round rod, then taper- 
ing both ends to sharp but square points, after which 


Si(^ 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


the iron was heated and bent in the middle over the 
horn end of the anvil into the shape of a U. Fol- 
lowing this, James soon knew how to make the 
hook for the staple and many other small but useful 
articles. 

There were many stone-cutters employed in the 
village, who brought their tools to Mr. Gillespie's 
shop to be sharpened and tempered. These James 
took a special delight in, and often fixed the tools 
without the slightest aid from the smith, and to 
this the stone-cutters made no objections. It is 
almost an art to know how to properly temper a 
steel chisel, or a steel instrument of any kind, for 
the reason that to overheat the steel renders it use- 
less, which is called burned, so that great care must 
be exercised in heating for the sharpening process. 
Then comes the work of tempering, which is to give 
it a hardness as well as a toughness to stand the 
work of cutting anything of a hard nature, and in 
this some blacksmiths of long experience at the anvil 
never succeed in producing the desired results, but 
the tempering process had something in it that 
aroused the boy's thoughts, which brought into 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


27 


action his mental faculties, and thus he soon mas- 
tered the art of tempering tools. 

In the same yard with that of Gillespie's black- 
smith shop was Charlton’s carpenter and joiner’s 
shop. The Charltons were a family of carpenters, 
well known throughout Northumberland County as 
experts in their line of trade, and who were em- 
ployed to do the woodwork at the blast furnace of 
the town, as well as at the palatial homes of the 
rich. 

Charlton’s carpenter shop was also a place of 
interest to our young mechanic, James, as much 
work was done there. In these times wood-working 
machinery was not known, or, in other words, such 
machinery had not yet been invented, so all kinds 
of work was done by hand tools, and to be consid- 
ered a full-fledged mechanic it was necessary to 
serve an apprenticeship of seven years, and in many 
cases to pay for the privilege of serving under such 
skilled mechanics; therefore the sons of the poor 
families could have no chance to learn a trade of 
this kind, no matter how much they desired to do so. 

The Charltons were not considered rich, but in 


28 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


good circumstances, and lived well. They were 
owners of a few hundred acres of land, well stocked 
with cattle, and had a number of horses, which were 
used principally for their own business connected 
with the carpenter shop. Mr. Charlton had a young 
son by the name of Jack, a bright and handsome 
boy, with large blue eyes, pleasing features and 
light, curly hair. Jack Charlton was just about the 
same age as that of the Raymond boy. The two 
boys were alike in other respects as well ; their looks 
and actions were similar, both being quick in step, 
about the same size and both had light, curly hair. 
From their first acquaintance the boys had become 
fast friends, and soon loved each other with warmer 
hearts than they had for their own brothers, so they 
became chums, and therefore spent much time to- 
gether. This gave James free access to Charlton's 
carpenter and joiner’s shop at all times, and this 
privilege was taken advantage of by him as time 
permitted, and for a while James divided his atten- 
tion between the blacksmith and the carpenter shops, 
spending an hour or two first at one and then at the 
other, thinking that the work would not be prop- 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


29 


erly done at either place unless he put in an 
appearance at frequent intervals. 

When Janies went to the carpenter shop, he 
would not simply stand and look at the men work, 
but he used the tools and built miniature houses or 
pieces of furniture, as well as mechanical move- 
ments, from which both boys derived great amuse 
ment. Though at a tender age, during these play 
hours James received important information and 
practice, of which he made use in later years. 

Professor Moore, the music teacher and dancing 
master of the village, was a son-in-law of Mr. Charl- 
ton, who owned the carpenter’s shop, and therefore 
a brother-in-law of young Jack Charlton. The 
professor gave lessons on the various musical in- 
struments, and was an artist in his profession. The 
professor organized a boys’ band in the village, 
which was composed of fourteen B-flat flutes, two 
flageolets, three piccoloes, two triangles, one bass 
drum, one snare drum and one kettle drum, and two 
national flags were carried to complete the village 
band. Here was an opportunity for James to learn 
music actuary by note — a desire which had long 


30 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


dwelt in his young breast. Jack Charlton, the young 
brother-in-law of the professor, was invited to join 
the band, and was assigned to the kettle drum. Pro- 
fessor Moore had little difficulty in securing all the 
boys he required to make up the necessary number, 
as there were more than double the number of appli- 
cants for the positions required, and older boys than 
James were preferred. But Jack Charlton made 
the way clear for his little chum, James, who was 
finally given a B-flat flute in the band. 

As previously stated, James loved mus’c as much 
as he did machinery or mechanics, and could whistle 
at a young age all the popular airs, which is a good 
proof of a boy having musical talent, and which 
held good in this case. 

James soon knew the notes and scale for the flute, 
after which he played the tunes of the band with 
a remarkable taste and sweetness, that won for him 
the admiration of Professor Moore, as well as of all 
the boys in the band. The professor taught his 
pupils the principles of music, and how to write the 
same, and although our young hero did not make 
music a profession, nevertheless in after years he 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


31 


attained considerable notoriety as a musician, and 
produced and published many excellent pieces of his 
own composition. 


CHAPTER III. 


BEGINS ACTUAL WORK IN A COAL PIT. 

Like the inevitable, the happy childhood days of 
young James Raymond had to come to an end. 
When he could no longer visit the blacksmith or the 
carpenter shop; when he could no longer continue 
in charge of the blast furnace, as he thought, or 
watch the birds complete their nests in the hedges 
and afterwards rob them of their little spotted or 
blue eggs, in order to enlarge his collection, which 
already filled many shelves in the attic under the 
thatched roof of his father’s cottage. The time 
had come when the boy could no longer go through 
the stubble fields in his bare feet, watching the 
reapers use their sickles, and playing with other chil- 
dren under the stacks of wheat; yet James did not 
suffer at the thought of losing forever this un- 
equaled happiness, for the reason that, while the 
boy loved play as all boys do, he had a greater 
desire for actual work of any kind. But there were 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


33 


at least two who suflfered at the thought of this 
change about to take place in the life of the boy. 
His mother did not sleep for many nights previous 
to the eventful morning, which could no longer be 
postponed, while his father did his work at the 
furnace with a heavy heart. It was a sad morning 
for his parents when James was kissed good-bye 
at the little cottage door as he started for the first 
time to earn his own living as a door-tender at the 
bottom of the deepest coal-pit in England. 

In the village of Wylam there was no other occu- 
pation for child labor than that of working in the 
coal pits, and those employed there scarcely saw the 
light of day more than once a week, as the coal 
works were usually idle on Sundays; consequently, 
these were the only days on which the slaves of the 
mines ever saw the sun shine, for the reason that 
the long working hours compelled them to descend 
the deep shafts long before the break of day, and 
they would not land again on the surface until long 
after the sun had gone down. Thus the poor men, 
women and children of the pits worked and lived 
in almost perpetual darkness. 


34 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


THE VILLAGE CALLER. 

People who rise early and work hard all aay 
usually sleep sound at night, and this rule held good 
in the village of Wylam. On account of this it was 
necessary to employ a man whose work it was ■ 
travel through the streets from house to house, 
shortly after midnight, to awaken from their deep 
slumbers those who were employed in the mines, in 
order that they might be at their posts before the 
machinery was set in motion, and not lose a moment 
for the owners of the works. The village caller 
usually did his work well. He always accomplished 
the objects of his visits, for if his loud and shrill 
voice failed to have the desired effect, his hear 
walking stick, when it came in contact with the 
cottage door, left no doubt in his mind that all within 
were roused from their slumbers. Although the 
faithful man whose task it was to interrupt the 
dreams of the poor miners made it a point to visit 
each and every hut, his voice would waken the 
soundest sleeper a half mile away, and to listen to 
this mournful sound in the dead of the night usually 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


35 


sent a shudder through the nerves of the peasants, 
and seemed like sounding their death knell. In- 
deed, in many instances it proved to be such, as it 
was a common occurrence to have disasters from 
fire-damp explosions, burning and suffocating hun- 
dreds of men and boys, while at other times large 
numbers would lose their lives by drowning when 
the subterranean caverns would suddenly fill with 
water from a river overhead or perhaps from some 
pent-up subterranean lake, without the slightest 
warning. Again, at times, the mighty weight of 
the earth’s crust would settle, filling up the main 
gangways to the shafts, and thus cutting off all 
escape, leaving the poor white slaves to die from 
hunger and thirst. 

James Raymond did not wait to be called by the 
village caller on his first morning at work in the 
mines ; so delighted was he to begin work even down 
in the bowels of the earth among the dangers men- 
tioned above, and a thousand others not spoken of, 
that he scarcely closed his eyes the previous night, 
but was up and ready for the road long before the 
village caller had made his rounds. 


^6 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


In describing the sensation of the first visit in the 
coal pits, James tells how it felt: 

“The pit I first descended was about sixty fath- 
oms deep, and, unlike the modern elevators used in 
the tall city buildings, equipped with safety clutches 
and other safety guards, as well as the comfortable 
and pleasing effect to the eye, simply a crude, rusty 
iron cage, that dangled from a single rope, was the 
means of transportation to and from the deep veins. 
The sides of the shaft were not walled up or fin- 
ished, but left in the rough, jagged and crude shape 
caused by the blasts of the powder in the opera- 
tions of sinking the shaft, while the water trinkled 
and splattered down the sides from various strata 
of rock, which made good outlets for many springs, 
as well as surface water. These drippings, leaping, 
as it were, down from one projecting rocky jag to 
another, created some of the most dreaded sounds 
that could be listened to, which were re-echoed 
many times, due to the uneven walls of the shaft.” 

While the cage of the shaft had a sort of hood 
on top for the purpose of shedding the dripping 
waters, it was impossible to make the trip without 


PROM PIT TO PALACE 


37 


being soaked through from the splashing and dash- 
ing of water on the rocky sides for the entire depth 
of the shaft. The velocity with which the cage 
traveled was about equal to that of a falling body. 
On my first descent I felt as if I had no weight; it 
seemed like standing in the air with nothing under 
my feet, and I did not breathe once during the brief 
time from top to bottom of the shaft. With the 
dripping waters on the hood of the cage, and the 
echoing sounds in the shaft, it felt like being in 
a mighty thunderstorm with the blackest clouds, as 
all was total darkness, and while the time of de- 
scent was short, it seemed like a lifetime and felt 
like passing to a strange and new world. On 
arriving at the bottom of the shaft the pitch dark- 
ness was broken by a few dim and flickering candle 
lights, which barely made it possible to see one’s 
hand held before his eyes ; and for a time this semi- 
darkness remains, but after a few hours the eyes 
conform to the situation in which they are placed, 
so that with a single tallow candle a person can see 
fairly well. This coal pit being one of the oldest in 
the country, with but one main shaft, through which 


38 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


all the coal mined had to be brought to the surface, 
made a distance between the coal chambers where 
the coal was being hewn and the main shaft in some 
places several miles away, so that when the men 
arrived at the bottom of the shaft in the mornings 
they had still some miles to travel before they could 
arrive at their posts of work. In this pit a cable 
system was in use to move the coal cars, or tubs 
as they were usually called, along the main gang- 
way, which extended more than a mile from the 
foot of the shaft to a junction, to which point the 
loaded cars were hauled by small-sized ponies from 
the various chambers throughout the mines. I men- 
tion small-sized ponies, because in this pit the coal 
veins were thin, and as it would not pay to take out 
much useless rock for the sake of the thin veins 
of coal, the rock was left, thus leaving the total 
height from floor to roof not more than three to 
four feet, which made it impossible to use other 
than the smallest ponies to draw the cars, and it 
was the occupation of hundreds of small boys, mere 
children, to drive these ponies. These ponies were, 
not quite as fortunate as their drivers in seeing day- 


FROM PIT TO PALACF 


30 


light once a week, for the reason that the day they 
were lowered to the bottom of the pit in a net was 
the last day of their lives that they saw the sun’s 
light and inhaled the pure atmosphere of the sur- 
face. Once they entered the coal pits they had to 
remain there as long as they lived. And before 
passing from this subject, I hope that the conditions 
of things have changed ere this, both for man and 
beast, and that the good Society for the Prevention 
of Cruelty to Animals has interested itself in this 
direction. 

The cable system for moving the cars along the 
main gangway in the mines was operated by a 
stationary steam engine. This engine was also lo- 
cated in the mines, about midway along the main 
passage, and conducted by three persons — the engi- 
neer, a fireman and a boy, who acted as oiler of the 
machinery, all of whom were on the most friendly 
terms with our young hero, James. It was near this 
location where James was occupied in opening and 
closing the doors on the gangway to assist the venti- 
lation, as the trips of cars passed in the darkness 
at frequent intervals all day long. 


40 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


Like the eye that soon becomes accustomed to the 
darkness, James soon adapted himself to his new 
situation and made the best of it without a murmur ; 
but his stay in the mines was cut short, lasting only 
a few weeks, and was brought to an end through a 
fearful accident at a point near where he was em- 
ployed. Three lives were lost from this, but James 
escaped without injury. The cause of the accident 
was the explosion of the steam boilers that were used 
to generate steam for the cable engine. It happened 
at about the noon hour one day, while a trip of 
loaded coal cars were in motion on the cable road, 
and in describing this accident James says: 

‘T was standing in the main gangway waiting for 
the loaded cars to come along, the roaring sound 
of which I could always hear, even at a great dis- 
tance; but this time, in place of the cars coming 
along as usual, I noticed that the cable had stopped 
moving, and a strong wind began to blow, as if it 
came from the main shaft or from the surface of 
the earth. The blast of wind became stronger and 
stronger, until I could no longer stand in its path. 
With a quick thought, I crouched to the side of the 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


41 


gangway into a small crevice, holding on to the. 
solid wall of coal like grim death. I remained in 
this position but a few moments, but to me it seemed 
more like months. Wind was not the only thing 
that flew by. Coal cars, some full of coal, others 
empty, some in splinters; heavy wooden props and 
other loose timber, and even large chunks of coal 
swept by, as if all were hurled from the mouth of 
some giant cannon, all of which I could distinctly 
hear as they came into collision with the sides, roof 
and floor of the gangway. In a few moments all 
was as still as death ; not a sound from any direction 
could I hear, except the beating of my own heart, 
and as the wind had extinguished the flame of my 
candle, I was left in the darkest of darkness, and 
alone. Did I begin to cry like the average child 
would do under like circumstances? No; I took a 
philosophical view of the situation and began to 
figure out in my mind what could have happened. 
As the River Tyne’s course ran above the worked- 
out coal veins of this old coal mine, my first im- 
pression was that the river had cut its way down 


4 ^ 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


to the old workings, which would rapidly fill them 
up and force the air before it along the subterranean 
caverns to its own level, sixty or more fathoms 
above. 

‘‘Another theory of the disaster came into my 
mind, namely, that the roof of some large, 
worked-out area had fallen or settled, which 
could result in displacing the air and send- 
ing it with great force in every direction of 
the main shaft or outlet from the mines. 
I concluded that this outlet must be stopped 
up or closed from some cause, otherwise the force 
of the wind would have gone in that direction and 
not come with such fearful force against the in- 
terior pressure of the mines. But thinking is of 
little use without action in any situation, and with- 
out hesitation I relit my candle and, started along 
the main gangway in the direction of the shaft, 
which was the only way out of the mines. I liad 
not gone far when I noticed that the atmosphere 
was saturated with steam, and the further I went 
the more noticeable it became, and I so quickly came 
into an atmosphere of actual steam that I found it 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


43 


very difficult to breathe. It now dawned upon me 
that the battery of steam boilers in the cable plant 
had burst, and the force being spent, the greatest 
danger was over, and in a little while the steam would 
clear away, thus giving me some hopes of once more 
seeing the light of day. Indeed, this conclusion 
proved to be correct, for as I slowly moved for- 
ward I found that the steam had become cooler and 
wet, and in this I had trouble to keep my candle 
burning; finally its light was extinguished by the 
steam or wet air, and I made no further effort to 
relight it, but groped my way with many difficulties 
in the dark along the gangway. At this point I was 
about a mile from the foot of the shaft, and although 
in total darkness for some distance, I made good 
headway, though I had to walk in a stooped position, 
with my hands stretched out before me, for fear 
of knocking my brains out against some jagged 
projection or hanging rock from the roof, while at 
the same time my feet had to contend with the ties 
of the track, as well as the sheaves or pulley-wheels, 
which were located in the centre of the rails, a few 
feet apart, to support the power cable. 


44 


JJ'ROM PIT TO palace 


‘‘On and on I went with many a stumble, which 
caused my hands to suffer in supporting the fre- 
quent falls I had, but this I did not mind, as I ap- 
peared to gain strength instead of losing it. Finally 
I came to a sudden stop ; something was in my way ; 
the track was no longer clear, and as I could only 
use my sense of feeling by my poor, lacerated 
fingers, I found that the passageway was practically 
closed or choked up with what seemed to be large 
pieces of coal, and this caused my hopes of ever 
again seeing the outer world to fall. I now con- 
cluded that the roof had fallen in and blocked up the 
gangway; but, continuing my groping, I found that 
there was a hole between the top of the fallen coal 
and the roof large enough for me to crawl through. 
Up I went, through the hole and down on the oppo- 
site side, finding, to my surprise and delight, that 
the coal which blocked the gangway was part of 
the loaded trip that was in motion at the time of 
the explosion, but had been scattered and piled up 
in confusion in both directions along the road. 

My hopes thus renewed, with a bare chance of 
being able once again to see and embrace my dear 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


45 


father and mother in the little thatched cottage 
where I kissed them good-bye only a few hours 
before, I started with renewed vigor to make my 
way to the shaft; and under these conditions, situ- 
ated as I was, my only thoughts were of those at 
home. I feared that they might suffer if I should 
be lost, and therefore I did all that I could to save 
myself for their sake. 

“The air was heavy and wet from the steam, which 
was still noticeable, and at times I still found it 
quite difficult to breathe, yet I ventured on, with 
slow progress, expecting every moment to stumble 
up against some new obstruction, and in this I was 
not disappointed. The road was now strewn with 
large pieces of coal, which made it necessary to 
slide my feet slowly along, so that when I came in 
contact with them I would lift my feet and step over 
and again renew my slide for life. At short inter- 
vals I would stop and listen for a few moments in 
hopes of hearing the voices of some of the other 
workmen, but all was still, save the usual cracking 
of the rocks, which alone broke the silence, and this, 
as all who have ever worked in a deep coal mine 


46 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


can attest, is the most lonesome noise that can be 
detected by the sense of hearing. 

“This cracking noise, which echoes through the 
dark caverns, seems like death quietly stealing on 
its intended victims, but, like the deadly rattlesnake, 
gives some warning of its approach; yet these 
seemingly unnatural sounds are entirely due to the 
never-failing principle of nature, filling her mis- 
sion regardless of any human condition, and thus 
the mighty earth above gradually settles down and 
again fills up the cavity dug by the hand of man, 
the fulfillment of which may require ten thousand 
years or more, but, as time is unlimited with nature, 
it never fails to accomplish its task. 


CHAPTER IV. 


NOW obstructed by loaded coal cars. 

“Giving more thought to my feet than to my head 
in the endeavor to step over obstructions, I suddenly 
bumped my head into the end of a coal car, which 
brought my movements to a stop once more. By 
careful inspection with my hands, I found the car 
to be loaded with coal. The gangway was narrow 
and low, with very little room on either side of the 
track, so that there was not much space to pass by the 
car. Nevertheless, I pressed through on one side 
between the rocks and the car, and on reaching the 
opposite end of the car I was again disappointed in 
finding another loaded car, and after that still 
another. I now concluded that I had met the 
loaded train of cars and might expect to encounter 
twenty or more before I could reach the last one, 
and this proved to be the case, for before I had 
squeezed, scrambled, climbed and crawled past the 


48 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


last one I thought and felt that there were at least 
a hundred cars on the track. 

• ^This was the slowest part of my movements from 
the time that I started for the shaft, and at several 
points there was not space enough on either side 
of the car to pass, and I had, therefore, to look for 
room above the car, and more than once was com- 
pelled to remove some of the coal from the top of 
the car in order to make room enough to pull myself 
through. At last I passed the train of cars, and 
now concluded that my way was clear and future 
progress would be more rapid. At this point I 
thought I heard some unusual sound, and I stopped 
to listen. I could distinctly hear what seemed to be 
the heavy breathing of a man. The sound came 
from the direction in front of me, and could not be 
far away. Surely, no one could be asleep in such 
a place and at such a time I What, then, could it be ? 
Moving on again with more care than before, I 
had gone only about ten feet when, with my hands 
feeling the ground or floor of the gangway, I came 
in contact with a man’s head. Being prepared to 
meet almost anything, this did not surprise me or 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


49 


add anything in the matter of fear to my feelings 
and I therefore carefully examined the man, as 
well as I could in the dark. I soon found out that 
the man was not sleeping, but was in the last gasps 
of life and in my endeavors to arouse him, a feeble 
sound came from his voice, the meaning of which, 
if words, I could not understand. However, I 
knew to whom the voice belonged. It was that of 
the engineer, Anthony Curley, who had no doubt 
been blown from the cable engine room several hun- 
dred feet along the gangway, by the force of the 
steam from the exploded boilers. Being unable to 
render any assistance to the dying man, I moved 
on now with the special object of getting to the 
shaft as soon as possible and report my experience, 
so that help might be sent to the dying engineer. 
But I had scarcely gone a hundred feet when I 
stepped on the leg of another man and at once con- 
cluded that this must be Mr. Curley’s fireman, Wil- 
liam Blackburn, and I was right. I found this poor 
fellow lying on his stomach, with his face flat upon 
the ground. He was not dead but seemed more so 
than the engineer. I knew him by feeling his 


50 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


length; he was a young man, but tall and thin, an -I 
as I now had a double reason for quickening my 
steps to the shaft, I did not spend much time over 
the helpless form of the dying fireman, and 
hastened again on my journey. 

“A still sadder case than I had yet encountered was 
now to be met with, and presently I pushed my way 
against the limbs of a poor little boy whose life 
was fast ebbing away. I carefully passed my hands 
over his little body and knew that it must be that of 
the boy who had been efnployed as oiler in the cable 
engine house. Here he lay with his face on the 
ground, and I still imagine that I hear the faint 
squeak that came from his throat as I tried to have 
him speak, but all efforts were in vain, as the poor 
fellows were all not only mangled by being blown 
hundreds of feet along the rugged gangway, but they 
were also scalded by the hot steam at the same time. 
After leaving the boy, I met nothing more to check 
my journey along the dark highway of the coal pit 
and soon arrived at the shaft, where I was told 
that I was the first person who could throw any 
light on what had happened in the interior of the 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


51 


mines. I found the men who were employed at 
the bottom of the shaft standing with terror, not 
knowing what to do or what to expect, for the force 
of the explosion had driven the air with tremendous 
velocity to and up the shaft, smashing everything 
in its path, but the spent steam did not reach this 
far, and therefore those at the shaft could not tell 
the cause of the subterranean cyclone. 

“I gave the information of what I had encountered 
on my way to the shaft, and it was clear to them 
what had happened. A rescue gang was quickly 
organized, which lost no time in going after the 
three poor victims of the disaster, but whose pre- 
cious lives had passed away before their arrival. 

“There was now only the vertical height of the 
shaft between myself and freedom from the very 
jaws of death, and at that moment I made a vow 
in my own little breast that should I be spared 
to walk once more upon the surface of the earth, 
nothing would ever induce me to again enter a coal 
mine. 

“I stepped on the cage, and the signal was given 
to hoist, and in a few moments myself alone was 


52 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


landed safe and sound on the surface, where to me 
the sky and clouds never looked so beautiful before 
or since. By this time it was known in the village 
that some terrible disaster had happened in what 
was known as the old coal pit, and hundreds of 
men, women and children were already at the mouth 
of the shaft, weeping for their fathers, brothers or 
husbands, while hundreds more were running tow- 
ard the pit from every direction. 

^‘As I stepped off the cage I was at once besieged 
by the surging crowds for information as to the 
nature of the disaster, and in my answers, in order 
to please, I made light of the matter and hastened 
home as fast as I could, in hopes that I might 
arrive there before my mother heard the news; but 
the excitement was so great in the village that none 
could help hearing that some great calamity had 
happened in the mines, and I met her as she was 
running with many other weeping mothers toward 
the mines.” 

It was now necessary for James to look for some 
other occupation than that of the coal mines, as 
his parents agreed with him that he should never 





iV 


liy. 


. ^ k « «- *•■» — 




JAMES MEETS HIS MOTHER ON HIS WAY HOME FROM THE 



FROM PIT TO PALACE 


53 


again risk his life below the surface of the earth, 
no matter what might happen; and as Wylam had 
no other work for child labor, except that of the coal 
mines, some other locality had to be looked for. 

Two days after the disaster at the coal mines 
James found employment at Bates’s Fire Brick and 
Terra-cotta Works, which were situated about five 
miles down the River Tyne from the town of 
Wylam, and near Newburn, where many young 
boys were employed and where a great variety of' 
articles were made from the clay other than square 
building brick. The hours for work at this factory 
were from six o’clock in the morning until six 
o’clock at night. James, therefore, had to rise 
very early each morning, as he had about five miles 
to walk to the works, and four o’clock was the hour 
necessary for the poor boy to rise every morning 
in order to be at his post by six o’clock. 

There were other boys who also found employ- 
ment at this factory from the village of Wylam, and 
James therefore had company on his journeys, 
mornings and nights, to and from his work. The 
distance, about five miles, was along the River Tyne, 


54 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


and the scenery was most picturesque between the 
village and the factory. Our young, ambitious 
hero enjoyed the beauties of nature displayed along 
the banks of the Tyne at all seasons of the year, 
although in winter time it was necessary to carry 
lanterns, it being pitch dark at such an early hour 
in the morning and at the late hour at night, when 
there was no moon; yet this darkness had an en- 
chantment for James in passing along under giant 
oaks, beeches and tall poplars, whose outlines could 
be seen, at a close distance, aided by a little 
light deflected from the surface of the Tyne’s 
waters. 

In these days the River Tyne, in the neighbor- 
hood of Wylam, was considered one of the best 
streams in England for the hatching of salmon, and 
great quantities were caught by the net as they 
came up the river in schools, on their way from 
the deep waters to the hatching grounds. This 
kind of fishing was done at night or early in the 
morning, because these fish would not move in 
shallow waters in the light of day. One of the 
fishermen would sit in the middle of the stream or 


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55 


river, upon a high stool — the water was not more 
than two feet deep or so — while the boatmen, with 
their net, would sit in their boats at one shore of 
the river and wait for the orders from the man 
on the stool. The duty of the man on the stool 
was to watch the surface of the water, which was 
easily disturbed by the movements of a school of 
salmon, as they had to swim near the surface, so 
that whenever he noticed the disturbance in the 
water, indicating the approach of the fish, he would 
call out to the boatmen to let down their nets, they 
being a hundred yards or so further up the river, 
and at the sound of his voice the boat would launch 
out, dropping off the net as it moved from' one 
shore to the other. Then, waiting until the fish 
had come within a certain distance, the fishermen 
would form a loop with the net, pulling back again 
to the shore from which they started, with the fish 
in the loop of the net. 

“Big Rob,” the sailor, who acted as watch on the 
stool in the river with the fishermen who labored 
along the stream in this vicinity, had a peculiar 
history, and his appearance betokened as much. He 


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was seven feet tall, and his voice was ihat of a 
deep bass, but he seldom spoke to anyone. He 
had been a sailor in the British Navy, but was now 
pensioned off. Before “Big Rob,” as he was called, 
joined the fishermen on the Tyne he had acted for 
a time as fireman at the blast furnace of the village 
of Wylam, where he looked after the fires under a 
nest of steam boilers, and in this capacity “Big 
Rob” proved that his treachery was as deep as his 
voice. 

On one cold winter’s night two poor men, home- 
less and hungry, while endeavoring to keep warm, 
found their way into the boiler room, where they 
laid down and fell asleep. Not long after they had 
closed their eyes, “Big Rob,” the sailor fiend, delib- 
erately opened the blow-off valve from the steam 
boilers and scalded the two poor men to death. For 
this crime “Bob, the sailor” was convicted for mur- 
der and condemned to be hanged, but through the 
influence of the queen the giant fiend was allowed to 
go free. 

As James, our young hero, travelled with his 
companions along the lonesome road to the factory 


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57 


at dusk and dark, there was nothing in their minds 
which gave them more fear than that of meeting 
“Big Rob.” Yet they frequently met him on their 
way, but were never molested by him. 

The history of this locality previous to the boys' 
time made it a place to fear, for it was along this 
part of the River Tyne and its mountain slopes that 
Dick Turpin lived and held sway for many years. 
Dick Turpin was perhaps the most daring highway 
robber known to English history. He usually oper- 
ated between Newcastle and Hexam, which is situ- 
ated about thirty miles north from Newcastle, and 
for many years his only companion was his faithful 
horse. Black Bess. Not far along the mountain- 
side from the house where James Raymond lived 
was a cave known as Turpin's Cave. In this cave 
the robber used to make his headquarters, and no 
one ever dared to capture him there. It is said that 
after escaping with plunder, and tired from long 
riding, Turpin would lie down in some grassy spot 
and sleep, while Black Bess, his only friend, stood 
watch, and at any noise which might indicate the 
approach of soldiers or police the horse would 


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arouse her master from his sleep and carry him 
off to some more secure place of safety with 
a swiftness that no other horse could equal. It is 
also said that Dick Turpin never robbed a poor 
man, but often divided that which he did steal 
among the poor, and it is said that Black Bess, his 
horse, in escaping with Dick from the police in the 
City of Newcastle, galloped down the Castle Garth 
stairs, a feat difficult even to a man, for this is a 
narrow lane of stone steps on the side of a steep 
hill, on each side of which are little shops where 
cheap shoes and clogs are sold. Many other stories 
are told of the famous outlaw, and no reading was 
more relished by the boys of this vicinity than tlic 
stories of Dick Turpin and Black Bess. 


CHAPTER V. 


JAMES AT THE FACTORY. 

Although the work was hard and the hours 
long for one so young, James enjoyed every moment 
of his time at whatever post he was placed, so that 
he served a complete apprenticeship, knowing every 
detail, and could execute practically any piece of 
work done at the factory before he had been there 
more than two years. At this factory all kinds 
and shapes of fire brick were made for building 
and various special purposes; also fire clay tile, 
ornamental moldings, ornamental flower pots and 
vases, glazed corrugated roofing tile and many other 
articles too numerous to mention. The clay used 
at this factory was taken from the coal mine which 
was owned by the Bates and situated near the fac- 
tory, so that they also mined their own coal. The 
fire clay is found in a vein under that of the bed 
of soft coal, and in some localities is as valuable 
as that of the coal, according to its quality. Fire 


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clay having traces of iron ore in it is not good, as 
the iron melts in the brick or article when it is being 
burnt in the kiln, which results in spoiling the color 
of the article; besides, when in use the traces of 
iron form rust and again disfigure the article made 
from the clay, so that clean fire clay, free from the 
traces of iron, is very valuable in the manufacture 
of terro-cotta or fire-clay goods. 

At the fire clay factory there was machinery. 
There were steam boilers and steam engines, there 
were steam pumps, a grinding mill for crushing 
the clay as it came from the mines in the shape 
of rocks, and pug mill for mixing, tempering and 
preparing the clay for the molds; so here again 
James was surrounded with the things that gave 
him special delight. In a very short time the boy 
understood the principles of the various pieces of 
machinery about the works, and in his dinner hour 
or any other spare time he busied himself making 
boilers, engines, fly-wheels, cog-wheels and pumps, 
out of fire clay and burning them hard in the kilns. 
Here he made a miniature locomotive from clay, 
that astonished the workmen of the factory and 


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6i 


won for him the friendship of the superintendent, 
who ever afterward showed the boy many favors. 
In connection with the factory was a small coal 
mine, as previously stated, but which differed some- 
what in the method of operating from that of the 
coal pits of Wylam. This mine is what is known 
as a drift, there being no shaft to descend and the 
entrance to the coal mines being on a level with the 
surface on the side of a steep hill. As it was not 
an extensive works, no machinery was' used, but 
ponies acted as the motive power in bringing the 
coal and fire clay to the mouth of the drift. 

An expert in the mining of coal, by name of 
Baxter, had charge of these coal works. He dis- 
played special skill in operating the mines without 
accident to his men, for which he was loved by all 
who knew him. His most amiable wife was also 
a great favorite with all who knew her, for her 
many acts of charity and kindness to the poor. 
The Baxter family consisted of father, mother and 
two children — a boy and a girl. They, too, were 
favorites in the village and were always leaders at 
Professor Moore’s dancing class, where the boys 


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of the class would vie with each other in dancing 
with the beautiful Sally Baxter, the superintendent’s 
young daughter. 

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” 
but James was not that kind, and while he made 
his work a matter of pleasure, though the hours 
were long, he also found time to join in the village 
sports, and at Professor Moore’s dancing class he 
was recognized as one of the most graceful boys 
on the floor. Here James and his young friend. 
Jack Charlton, often met in the evenings, which was 
now about the pnly time they could see each other, 
except on Sunday afternoons, as Jack had to attend 
school, and after school hours he was sent into his 
father’s carpenter shop to assist his older brothers 
and familiarize himself with the tools, as it was his 
father’s intention to have the boy follow in his 
own footsteps and become a tradesman. 

Jack Charlton and James Raymond still remained 
chums and loved each other as much as ever, 
although their stations in life differed greatly. 
James was obliged to work for the necessities of 
life, while Jack’s father was practically a rich man. 


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63 


But there was one person outside of their own 
families for whom they both had a greater and a 
deeper love than that which they had for each other, 
and this one person was none other than the beauti- 
ful Miss Sally Baxter. 

Miss Baxter was of about the same age as the 
boys. She was a high type of English beauty; 
her long, golden hair was in keeping with her tall, 
slender and graceful form, while her face was a 
heavenly dream of mildness on which nature had 
outdone herself in producing a complexion to har- 
monize with such a masterpiece of work. Not 
only did Jack and James love Miss Sally, but every 
boy in the village loved her, and who could blame 
them? But she had her preferences and showed 
them. They were about equally divided between 
the two boys — James Raymond and Jack Charlton. 

There were many parties, picnics, festivals and 
annual games in which the village children partici- 
pated, and they were never at a loss to find a suit- 
able queen of the May, for Miss Baxter’s parents 
were in good circumstances and could well afford 
to dress her in a rich and becoming style for any 


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occasion, and in this they always took a special 
delight. 

In gathering wild flowers through the picnic 
groves Miss Sally usually had two curly-headed 
boys at her command, who strove against each 
other in searching out for her the rarest specimens, 
as well as displaying their skill, prompted by lo^ 
in carving her name on the bark of the trees. 

The village band often serenaded the more promi- 
nent villagers at their homes, and when the Baxter 
family was visited on these occasions the kettle- 
drum, in the hands of Jack Charlton, put forth 
vibrations that could not be inspired at any other 
serenade, while James’ flute gave a revelation of 
sweet sounds surpassing all former efforts. This 
appeared like a duel between the two boys for the 
favor of Miss Sally, while their instruments were 
the weapons with which they fought. There was 
a silent rivalry between the two boys for a long 
time as to which of them would be looked upon with 
most favor by Miss Baxter, yet they never had a 
quarrel, and remained friends until separated by thQ 
Atlantic Ocean, after which they never met again. 


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65 


But there was something more than pleasure for 
James in his youthful romance; for to be consid- 
ered a favorite with Miss Sally Baxter, the super- 
intendent’s daughter, and to be a rival of Jack 
Charlton was a proud honor to which no other boy 
in the village could attain, and thus honored, James 
felt that he should prove himself worthy of such 
a marked distinction, and to do this he began to 
exercise special care in all his actions. He could 
never be found among rude or bad boys; no one 
could ever hear him speak a bad word or a curse 
of any kind; he picked his company, which con- 
sisted of the most refined children of the village. 
When he walked on the street he was very careful 
about how he walked, as if he knew that this is 
one of the best indications of a person’s character. 
James was a proud boy by nature, and to carry out 
these instincts he considered that he should be per- 
fect in every respect. He acquired the noble trait 
of courtesy to all and was ever ready to assist in 
any good work where he could be of use. He would 
die sooner than tell a lie, even in trifling things. 
James displayed remarkable taste in his dress; 


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though of cheap materials, it was liket himself, 
always clean and seemed to fit him better than the 
clothes worn by the average boy. These tastes and 
refinements grew on the boy and never left him. 
They were some of the weapons with which he 
fought his way through life, and won for him suc- 
cess in many difficult undertakings. But he had also 
other qualities that are necessary to win in life’s 
struggles, a determination and a perseverance to ac- 
complish any undertaking that he might enter into, 
and these never left him, while his life after many 
years of ventures and adventures proved that it was 
next to impossible for the boy to fail in anything he 
set out to accomplish. 


CHAPTER VI. 


HIS VISITS AT ISAAC JACKSON^S. 

Ned Jackson, the son of a coal miner in the 
village of Wylam, was numbered among those 
whom James Raymond considered his special 
friends, and while Ned was a nice and good boy, 
James made most of his visits to Ned’s house for 
the purpose of looking at the many curious things 
that could be seen in the room occupied by Ned’s 
uncle, Isaac Jackson. Isaac Jackson was a bache- 
lor, and at the time of which we write was about 
sixty-five years of age. He lived with his married 
brother, who had only one child, and this was Ned. 
The uncle was an inventor who; produced many 
devices of great utility, chiefly among which was 
Jhat of the eccentric rod for steam engines and 
which was one of the most important improvements 
in connection with steam engines. 

The eccentric rods are for the purpose of operat- 
ing the slide valves in the steam chest. Their mo- 


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FROM PIT TO PALACE 


tion is in the opposite direction to that of the piston 
rod of the engine or steam cylinder, and it is accom- 
plished by having an eccentric band on the main 
shaft from the fly-wheel. It is a remarkably simple 
device for the work it performs, and is still used 
on engines. 

Isaac Jackson’s room at Ned’s house was indeed 
a curiosity shop for James. There were wheels of 
all shapes and sizes; there were curious pieces of 
mechanism, built entirely of levers ; there were spools 
wound with fine copper wire and covered with silk, 
from which Ned’s uncle would throw long electric 
sparks. This seemed a wonder to James, but in 
after years he found out that this wizard of a ma- 
chine was a simple induction coil, universally used 
to-day in electrical plants. 

James never lost an opportunity to visit Isaac 
Jackson’s workshop, where new inventions were 
being created, and it is believed that these surround- 
ings stimulated the boy’s mind in the same direc- 
tion, for his heart was already in sympathy with 
mechanics. 

The house in which the Jackson family lived was 


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69 


a modest but comfortable cottage, built of stone, one 
and a half stories high, without a cellar. All the 
rooms on the first floor were paved with large, flat 
stone flags. One of the rooms, besides the kitchen, 
was provided with a large open fireplace and grate, 
in which coal was burned to warm the house in win- 
ter time. The furniture in this room consisted of a 
plain wooden bench on one side of the grate fire, two 
low three-legged stools, and one high stool, usually 
placed in a circle in front of the fireplace, and a 
single bed in one corner of the room, with high 
posts and curtains drawn all around them. There 
were two or three plain tables, but they could not 
be called furniture, for they were used more as 
work benches, filled with tools and pieces of machin- 
ery, like the many plain board shelves all around 
the side walls, filled in the same manner. From 
the ceiling or loft of this room hung many curious 
devices, all of which were inventions of one kind 
or other, produced by Isaac Jackson’s own hands, 
and this was the living, sleeping and work-room 
of the inventor. 

In the evenings the two boys, Ned and James, 


10 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


would sit around the open fireplace on their three- 
legged stools, between Ned’s father and uncle, gaz- 
ing into the red coals as they glowed on the hearth 
fire, while their ears were wide open, listening to 
stories of adventures and other things talked about 
by the two older Jacksons. The stories were not 
always of inventions and machinery, but frequently 
of ghosts and goblins, for which the room, lit only 
by the light from the grate fire, with its mysteri- 
ously moving clockworks and suspiciously sealed 
boxes, was well suited to make impressions on the 
boys during such recitals. 

But our young hero, James, had some questions 
to ask, and surely the man who could produce such 
things as those Ned’s uncle had made could answer 
anything. He, therefore, used his young friend, 
Ned Jackson, as a go-between, so that Ned would 
ask his uncle questions for which James wanted 
answers, and while they sat on the hearth-stone in 
the evenings many questions were put to the vener- 
able inventor by the boys. 

“Uncle,” said Ned, one evening, as they sat on 
their favorite stools, “did you ever meet Will o’ the 


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71 


Wisp? James saw him the other dark night on 
his way home from the factory, and so did several 
of the other boys. James wants to know what kind 
of a man he is and why he always carries a light 
and follows the people, and only on the darkest 
nights. James says that a few nights ago, as they 
were on their way home, and had reached the thici. 
woods between the river and Belle’s marsh lands, 
they saw a jumping and flickering light about a 
hundred yards from them in the field. The boys 
walked as fast as they could, and part of the way 
ran, as they were frightened; but the light seemed 
to keep up with them, traveling as fast as they did, 
but keeping the same distance from them out on the 
meadows ; and when the boys got as far as old Belle 
Offert’s house the light disappeared. It must 1: 
a witch, because old Belle looks like one, and he knew 
her and stopped there over night.” 

“No, my dear boys,” said Ned’s uncle, “I never 
met the will o’ the wisp, but I have often seen the 
light which James saw the other night, and which 
is supposed to be some kind of mysterious person, 
who travels only in the night time. This imaginary 


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person is often alluded to by the old English poets. 
It is commonly believed that the light retires before 
one who pursues it, and this statement is confirmed 
by the statements of some observers, while it is dis- 
proved by others. This flickering light is usually 
seen over the surfaces of marshy grounds or grave- 
yards. Sometimes it moves quietly along, resembling 
the light of a lantern carried in the hand, and again 
it appears, not alone, but accompanied by two or 
three similar lights, dancing merrily up and down. 
In the night mists it seems like the light from some 
neighboring house, and many travelers have been 
led by it into some dangerous bogs, from which they 
would find no escape until the appearance of the 
morning light 

So, my dear boys, it is not strange that a char- 
acter of mystery should be attached to this luminous 
appearance, and that the ignorant should have 
ascribed it to some evil spirit, yet it is simply due 
to what is known as marsh gas. This is highly 
inflammable, carburetted hydrogen, which bubbles 
up through the water that covers the boggy places, 
and may be inflamed on the surface. This gas is 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 




generated by the decomposition of vegetable or ani- 
mal matter, and is ignited by spontaneous com- 
bustion. It rises from the surface in the daytime 
as well as at night, but cannot be noticed in day- 
light. 

“Now, boys, if you ever see that light again, you 
need have no fear of it, because it is neither a man 
nor a witch, but just a little flickering light, the 
same as that made by a candle.” 

As Mr. Jackson described the cause of these 
strange lights, James held his breath, but kept his 
mouth and ears wide open for fear of losing a single 
word that was said, and clearly grasping the mean- 
ing of what he had heard, he set his thoughts iii 
motion, thus prompting another question. So James 
broke the brief silence by saying : 

“Well, Mr. Jackson, since Will o’ the Wisp, or 
Jack o’ the Lantern, which he is sometimes called, 
is not a man, but a simple little amount of gas burn- 
ing from the ground, old Belle Offert may not be a 
witch, as we have always supposed her to be.” 

“Your thoughts are in the right direction, James,” 
remarked Ned’s uncle; “but let me ask you, or both 


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of you, what reason did you ever have for believing 
that Mrs. Offert was a witch?” 

‘‘Well,” said Ned, “because she looks like one. 
She walks bent over, or stooped, with her head 
almost touching the ground, and she always wears 
a night-cap; besides, she carries a black stick with 
a funny-shaped hook on the end of it.” 

At this point, in order to assist Ned in replying 
to the uncle’s question, Janies said: “And also be- 
cause she lives in the woods in a little black house, 
miles away from any other house, and the loneliest 
spot between Wylam and Newburn; and because she 
made the warts disappear from Jack’s and Tommy 
Simpson’s hands, and you can remember how their 
hands used to be covered with warts.” 

“This is simply another Will o’ the Wisp case,” 
remarked Ned’s uncle, “for it happens that I am 
very well acquainted with old Mrs. Offert. In fact, 
I know her whole history and that of her family, and 
I know her to be a good, Christian lady. Her hus- 
band, Daniel Offert, was a cavalryman, and fought 
in the famous battle of Waterloo, from which he 
escaped with the loss of one eye. The Offerts had 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


75 


one son, whose name was also Daniel, and who grew 
to be one of the strongest men in all England. He 
was a Samson in strength, and could easily lift a 
horse. This great strength was inherited from his 
mother, Mrs. Offert, who had been a powerful 
woman in her younger days. But while her husband 
was away in the wars, fighting against Napoleon 
Bonaparte, she was obliged to work hard in order 
to support herself and young Daniel. But this hard 
working finally resulted in her injuring her spine, 
and she was thus left a cripple. She had to walk 
in a stooped position, because she could not straighten 
her back. It was also necessary for Mrs. Offert to 
carry a cane to assist in supporting her weight, and 
in these times it is the custom for poor peasant 
women to wear night-caps even in the daytime. 

‘‘As to the location and kind of house the poor 
lady lives in, this is entirely due to her poverty. She 
is too poor to live in a village house, although they 
are not much to speak of. Therefore, you will see, 
boys, that witches are only imaginary persons and 
not realities. There is no such thing as a witch, and 
there never was.” 


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FROM Pit TO Palace 


This gave the boys courage, so that they could 
turn around and look into the dark recesses of the 
room, where a short time previous the curiously 
shaped devices hanging from the ceiling seemed to 
have hideous faces and eyes that moved. Then 
James remarked that he would have no fear hereafter 
in passing Belle Offert’s house. 

“The river,” whispered James to Ned. 

“Oh, yes,” said Ned, addressing his uncle; “James 
wants to know where all the water comes from that 
i^s always flowing down the river. It never stops, 
so there must be a lot of water at the upper end.” 

“Not so,” replied the venerable inventor; “there 
is very little water at the head of the river, yet 
millions of gallons flow daily from the mouth of the 
river into the sea. But it travels back again from 
the sea, not by way of the river or any other stream, 
nor by land, but by way of the air lines far up above 
Ihe surface of the earth, and landing on the ground 
as it comes in contact with high mountains or gets 
too heavy for the air to carry it any further, when 
it falls and finds its way into the river, thus flowing 
back again to the sea. 


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77 


‘This is accomplished by one of nature’s wonder- 
ful machines, that is automatic in its action and 
unlimited in power. As you boys know something 
about pumps for forcing water, you can imagine 
what a giant pump it would require to force all the 
river’s water from the sea back to its head, at a 
hundred miles or so distant, and with an elevation 
of a thousand feet. But the power that accomplishes 
this great feat is not exhausted by putting in motion 
the waters of the River Tyne, for it is the same 
marvellous power that lifts and forces every drop 
of water that moves in all the great and small rivers 
of the world. This majestic machine was invented 
by God Himself, who was the first and greatest 
inventor of the universe. It is, therefore, an honor 
to be an inventor and be able to create new and 
useful things, as we are told everything God made 
is intended for a good purpose. But we have not 
yet acquired a sufficient knowledge to enable us to 
understand and handle to advantage, except to a 
limited extent, His wonderful creations. 

“One of God’s little inventions was that of the 


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sun, which gives to the world all its heat, light and 
power. This world, called the earth, and many 
other worlds unknown to man, are mere footballs 
with which the sun plays. By its mighty force it 
keeps these worlds in motion, whirling through un- 
limited space with a velocity incomprehensible to the 
mind of man; yet this is but one of His simple 
achievements.” 

After Mr. Jackson had finished his last sentence, 
for fear he might forget, James wished to know how 
the water could get up into the air and stay there 
or travel from one place to another without any- 
thing to rest on. 

‘‘Well, in the first place,” replied Ned’s uncle, “you 
must understand that water, when in the air, does 
rest on something. It is the air that holds it, and 
while the air is 813 times lighter than water, it has 
the power of lifting and conveying a certain quantity, 
according to its temperature. 

“Air, although we cannot see it, is a substance just 
as much as water, and has a weight of about 1-13 of 
a pound per cubic foot at a temperature of 60 deg. F., 
and under a temperature of 70 deg. F. can absorb 


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79 


about eight (8) grams of water per cubic foot of 
its bulk, and more than this as its temperature rises 
higher. One cubic foot of water at a temperature 
of 6o deg. F. weighs sixty-two and one-half ( 62 }^) 
pounds, and although it requires seven thousand 
(7,000) grains to make one pound, there is sufficient 
air covering the earth to absorb more than the 
waters contained in all the rivers in the world. 

“Now, my boys, I hope you will understand how 
it is possible for water to rest on air. When you see 
clouds up in the air, it is water that you are looking 
at, but it is in the form of vapor, and it is through 
the heat of the sun that water from the ocean, lakes 
and rivers is turned into vapor. The water is 
absorbed and lifted by the air as soon as it leaves 
the earth’s surface, and ascends up to the heights 
according to its temperature, where it would remain 
in a vertical position from whence it rose were it not 
for the lateral motion of the air or wind, which 
drives it over the land to all parts of the earth.” 

Just here James again whispered to Ned: “Ask 
him how the water gets down again and what makes 
it rain.” 


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FROM PIT TO PALACE 


'That’s So,” Ned whispered back, and, looking up 
to his uncle as he sat on the high stool and began to 
fill his pipe to have a quiet smoke, he said: "But 
how does the water get down again, uncle, when it 
wants to rain?” 

"Oh, yes, I intend to explain that,” said the in- 
ventor; and as soon as he had raked out with the 
poker from between the bars of the grate fire a small, 
red cinder to fit into his day pipe, which ignited the 
tobacco, he began his answer to the boys’ last ques- 
tion as to how it rained. 

"As I have already stated, air has the power of 
holding and conveying a certain quantity of water, 
according to its bulk and temperature, and you will 
remember that I said that at 70 deg. F. one cubic 
foot of air could hold eight (8) grams of water, 
and more than this at higher temperatures. Now, 
the reason why air will hold more water the higher 
its temperature rises is because the air expands in 
bulk, becoming larger as its temperature rises. On 
the other hand, when the air cools to a lower tem- 
perature, it contracts and becomes less in bulk ; and, 
therefore, when the vapory air which we call clouds 


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8i 


contains its full capacity of water, according to its 
temperature, it will not be able to rise to a higher 
elevation in the sky, unless the rays of the sun shine 
on ’it, warming it to a higher temperature, when it 
would again expand and float into a higher strata. 
But should the sun go down at a time when the air 
was charged with all the water it could carry, and 
cool air began to move around the clouds, their tem- 
perature would begin to lower at once, when the air 
holding the water would contract into a smaller bulk 
than that necessary to hold its water or vapor, and 
thus, becoming heavy, would fall, and all the little 
particles of vapor in their descent would attract each 
other and merge together, thus forming drops of 
water, or rain. 

'The size of the drop is increased in proportion 
to the rapidity with which the vapors are condensed. 
The average height at which clouds float above the 
surface of the earth on a calm day is between one 
and two miles, but there are some light clouds that 
often attain an elevation of five or six miles. It is, 
therefore, the rays of the sun that cause the vapor 
to rise from the earth, as previously stated, and it 


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is the absence of the sun’s rays that cause the vapor 
or rain to fall. 

''So this is the perpetual motion that goes on. The 
air is never at rest, and cannot be, nor is anything 
else ever at absolute rest.” 

The night was now getting late, and long past 
the hour at which James was accustomed to retire; 
but after listening to the stories told by Mr. Jackson 
regarding the sun, the clouds, the worlds and about 
the great Inventor of the Universe, he slept but little 
that night, and the next day his thoughts were of 
other worlds than this, and he had a great desire to 
hear more from Mr. Jackson. 


CHAPTER VIL 


THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ABSOLUTE REST. 

James remembered one of the last things Mr. 
Jackson had said, and at this he was puzzled, but 
concluded he would not forget to ask an explana- 
tion of it the next night he would visit Ned Jackson’s 
house. 

Ned’s uncle said that everything moved and was 
never at rest, so James began to watch any and 
everything, but could not notice them move, except 
things that were alive. However, he noticed that the 
sun moved, as he thought, and soon made practical 
use of it. 

In a large room at the factory where Jam'es was 
employed as a moulder’s helper the sun used to shine 
in through a small window, which threw a bright 
ray of light on the opposite wall of the room, and 
as the day went by, he noticed that this ray of light 
moved along the wall and reached the same point 
every evening. The course of the ray along* the 


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wall started at a high point near the ceiling and 
gradually lowered down as it moved along the wall, 
until at noon it began to rise again, moving in the 
same direction, but further away from its starting 
point, and continued in this motion until the sun 
went down behind the hills and the rays were lost. 

At ten o’clock in the morning a bell was rung, at 
which time there was a half hour allowed for lunch, 
and one day, just as this bell rang, James noticed 
where the sun ray was on the wall, and he marked 
the figure lo at that spot. Then at twelve o’clock, 
which was dinner hour, James again marked the 
wall where the sun reflected its light, but with the 
figure 12. Again at four o’clock in the afternoon 
the bell rang, at which time a half hour was allowed 
for what they called ‘‘tea,” so the figure 4 was 
marked under the sun spot on the wall. Six o’clock 
was the last time during the day that the bell rang, 
and this ringing signified the closing hour of the 
day’s labor, and that was also marked on the wall 
of the room. 

Now, the boy had no clock or watch to guide him 
in constructing his timepiece on the wall of the room. 


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85 


SO in order to get each hour and half-hour of the 
James divided the spaces already on the wall 
in the same manner as on the dial of a clock, and 
thus, by the aid of the sun ray and some chalk lines 
on the wall, he had a perfect clock, which kept cor- 
rect time and never required winding, and which 
was used by the factory hands as a guide to the 
time for many years, and was the first actual time- 
piece James ever owned. 

The boy was so filled with a desire for knowledge 
that he wasted little time with persons from whont 
he could learn nothing, and he now made up his 
mind to cultivate as much as possible the acquaint- 
ance and friendship of. educated people, and this he 
carried out in a most successful manner. In his con- 
tact with people of culture James, though he at no 
time studied the principles of grammar as taught 
in school, acquired a good command of the English 
language and a correct pronunciation of almost all 
words, for he realized that this was his only chance 
of obtaining an education, and he never failed to 
make the best use of any opportunity met with in 
this direction. 


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When he listened to a person of culture speak, he 
weighed and analyzed every word, and not only the 
words spoken, but also the pitch of the voice, which 
must harmonize with the expression to have that 
charming effect known as a musical voice, and which 
cannot be attained by persons who are coarse by 
nature. He also noticed that the expression of the 
face while speaking had much to do with what is 
said, and therefore to get the true meaning of words 
addressed to him he would look the speaker straight 
in the face to watch the movements of the muscles 
in the face, the lines as they are formed, and their 
location; the rise and dropping of the eyes, the 
straight or side glances of the eyes, the sudden 
change in the color, which may or may not come 
over the face, from a flush to a paleness, or vice 
versa. The lips in their movements do more than 
allow the sounds to pass from the throat, for their 
movements are also controlled by the feeling of the 
heart, and show as plain to the eye as the sounds are 
meant to convey to the ear. 

By close observations such as mentioned above, 
James, at a young age, acquired the knowledge of 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


67 

reading a person's character even without hearing 
him speak, and this he put to good practical use in 
after years, when he entered extensively into busi- 
ness, and also when the time came for him to choose 
a life partner. 

At the noon hour one day, shortly after the talks 
on air at Ned Jackson's house, James made one of 
his usual visits to the factory engine room, where 
he thought he might gain time in acquiring more 
information regarding the steam engine, and quickly 
entered into conversation with the engineer, whom 
he found quietly eating his dinner while the engine 
was at rest. 

‘‘Mr. Chilton," said James, for that was the engi- 
neer’s name, “what kind of an engine do you call 
this? Has it any special name?" 

James had often noticed that this engine was not 
made just like others he had seen. “This is called a 
condensing engine, James," replied Mr. Chilton. 

“A condensing engine!" echoed James; “and what 
do you mean by that?" 

“Well," said the engineer, “it means that in this 
type or construction of engine the air or atmospheric 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


8S 

pressure is prevented from exerting its force against 
the piston of the engine in moving the machinery.” 

Now, this kind of talk was more than interesting 
to the boy, for he thought that he knew all about 
air from what Isaac Jackson, the inventor, had told 
him. He knew that air could carry a small quan- 
tity of water for every cubic foot of its bulk, and 
although it could not be seen, it could be felt and 
had weight. But that it had power to retard steam 
engines was new to him, so he asked Mr. Chilton 
to explain how the air was a detriment in connection 
with the engine. 

“Well, James,” replied the engineer of the factory 
engine, “I will have to explain the meaning of atmos- 
pheric pressure before you will be able to under- 
stand how the air can retard the engine in its work ; 
and now, as you already know that the air has a 
certain weight, you will more easily understand my 
explanation. 

“Pure air is called atmospheric air, and atmos- 
pheric pressure means the weight of the air resting 
on the earth; and the air that covers the earth is 
supposed to extend about fifty miles high. Now, 


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89 


whatever distance in height the air extends, a col- 
umn of this air one inch square weighs about fifteen 
pounds, so that the surface of the earth, and near 
the level of the sea, and on the sea as well as on the 
land, every inch of surface is subject to a pressure 
of fifteen pounds, all due to the weight of the air. 

'‘To give some idea, so that the mind may in a 
measure comprehend what the total weight of the 
air surrounding the world is, it has been calculated 
that the weight of the atmosphere is equal to the 
weight of a solid ball of lead measuring sixty miles 
in diameter, and this is so great that the mind could 
not grasp its meaning, even in tons. 

"I know,” continued the engineer, "that you 
understand how the steam operates the piston in the 
cylinder of the engine, namely, by forcing it from 
one end to the other and back again by its pressure, 
which is usually sixty pounds per square inch, as 
we do not care to carry more than that for fear of 
straining the boilers. But, if you notice, in this 
engine we do not allow the exhaust steam as it leaves 
the cylinder to blow directly into the air. You 
will notice that there is no puffing of steam like that 


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produced by a locomotive. As I have told you, the 
air presses against every square inch of the earth’s 
surface with a pressure of about fifteen pounds, and 
therefore should we allow the exhaust steam to flow 
from the cylinder of the engine directly into the air, 
it would have to force its way out against this pres- 
sure, but being relieved of this atmospheric pres- 
sure, there would be fifteen pounds per square inch 
less resistance on the engine’s piston for the boiler 
pressure to overcome. 

‘‘But to overcome this atmospheric pressure so 
that the steam leaving the cylinder will not have to 
come in contact with it, the exhaust steam is allowed 
to flow into a large tank, or cylinder, called a con- 
denser, into which there is also a constant flow of 
cold water. The water, coming in contact with the 
exhaust steam, condenses the steam as fast as it 
flows from the cylinder, and the condensing tank 
being air-tight, the pressure of the air cannot enter 
to exert its force against the outlets or exhaust from 
the steam cylinder. In this manner the engine is 
given practically the full force and power of the 
pressure of the steam carried, on account of exhaust- 
ing into a vacuum.” 


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91 


During the engineer’s explanation of the engine 
to James, each part of the machine was pointed out. 
Every valve and important feature was separately 
explained, so that before one o’clock that day the 
principles of a condensing engine were stored away 
for future use in some of the mechanical bumps of 
the boy’s head. 

The water pump that supplied this factory engine 
and its boilers drew its water from a little stream 
down in a meadow a few hundred yards from the 
engine house, where the water in the stream flowed 
at a much lower level than that at which the pump 
was located, and frequently there was trouble with 
the suction pipe between the stream and the pump, 
and on one of these occasions it was necessary to 
stop the engine for lack of water to supply the boilers, 
and this resulted in stopping work in many other 
departments of the factory, which depended upon 
the engine for their supply of clay. 

There was an idle day for many of the hands at 
the factory on account of necessary repairs on the 
pump pipes, and James was included with those who 
were to be idle on this account. But he went to the 


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factory that day just as if he had been instructed 
to go, although that morning and evening he had 
to walk to and from the factory all alone, because 
the other boys were glad to get the chance of remain- 
ing away from work, and were not enthusiastic 
enough to travel that distance for the purpose of 
looking at any kind of machinery. 

A gang of mechanics were put to work to make 
the necessary repairs, while the engineer, Mr. Chil- 
ton, gave supervision to what was being done, and 
our young student of mechanics spent his time assist- 
ing the men at their work, for which he received 
no pay, as it was an idle day at the works, except 
for those who were making the repairs. But never- 
theless he thought this was a good opportunity to 
find out how the pump drew its water from the 
stream, which was located so far from the pump 
and had to run uphill all the distance. 

At the noon hour this day James sat with the 
engineer and ate his dinner, at which time the usual 
questions began, and this time the principles on 
which the pump operated were discussed. 

know,” said the boy, “that water always flows 


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93 


downhill on the ground, but I do not understand how 
it can flow uphill by being simply in a pipe, on which 
there is a pump at the opposite end, because there is 
nothing between the pump and the stream of water 
but the pipe, and that does not move/’ 

Mr. Chilton expected something of this kind to 
take place, for he had noticed James at his heels all 
morning wherever he happened to be, but being a 
good-natured man and an excellent mechanic, such 
subjects were as pleasing to him as they were to the 
boy, and, therefore, Mr. Chilton took special pains 
to answer the lad’s questions in as correct a manner 
as he knew how. 

“This is another piece of machinery, James,” re- 
plied Mr. Chilton, “in whose action the atmospheric 
pressure plays an important part; and while, as you 
say, there is nothing in the pipe between the stream 
and the pump that moves, the cylinder of the pump 
may be considered as part of the suction pipe, and 
in this there is something that moves — the piston 
of the pump cylinder and its valves. 


CHAPTER VIII. 


PRINCIPLES OF THE SUCTION PUMP. 

‘‘Now, this most simple, and one of the most use- 
ful machines ever invented, consists of but three 
moving parts, namely, the plunger, the plunger valve 
and the valve at the bottom of the cylinder. The 
valves used in the suction pump are what are known 
as check valves. They allow water to lift them by 
its force and pass through the opening, which they 
seal when at rest, but check any back flow of water 
by quickly falling to their seats when they are fitted 
air-tight. One of these check valves is carried by 
the plunger or piston of the pump as it moves up 
and down, also fitted air-tight to the sides of the 
cylinder. When the plunger of the pump rises in 
the cylinder, it carries with it the air that filled the 
upper part of the cylinder, and as the plunger and 
its valves are fitted air-tight, there would be a space 
left in the lower part of the cylinder below the 
movable plunger that would have nothing in it were 


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95 


it not for the atmospheric pressure which rests on 
top of the water down at the stream in the meadow, 
which forces into the mouth of the pipe as much 
water as the amount of air that had been displaced 
by the action of the pump. And now, as the valve 
situated at the lower part of the pump’s cylinder 
will not allow anything to pass down through its 
seat, the amount of air now in the cylinder has no 

way of escape but up through the plunger; in other 

♦ 

words, this amount of air standing between the 
lower valve of the cylinder and the plunger is in a 
snare; it has been captured, and the pump is the 
trap in which it was caught. 

‘‘As yet, in the action of the pump, you will bear 
in mind that we have made but one stroke, and that 
was the lift, which means that the plunger moved 
from bottom to top of the cylinder only. Now, the 
next stroke is to move the plunger from top to 
bottom of the pump’s cylinder, and this may be 
likened to that of a diver going down into the deep, 
where he takes hold of something and brings it to 
the surface, for as the plunger moves down, its check 
valve opens, allowing the confined air at bottom of 


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plunger to escape to the surface of the plunger, when 
the valve closes its seat again and is now ready for 
the up-stroke. 

‘‘Thus repeating this action of the pump, in a 
short time all the air in the pump will be lifted 
through the mouth of the pump, while the atmos- 
pheric pressure is still exerting its force on the sur- 
face of the water at the lower end of the pump pipe 
and filling the pipe the entire distance up to the 
pump with water, which is now captured by the 
pump in place of the air. 

“I trust you will now be able to see the very 
important part played by the atmospheric pressure 
in delivering the water from the stream some hun- 
dreds of yards distant, and to a higher elevation than 
that of the stream. 

“The pump, therefore, by its power, lifts the water 
from the bottom of its cylinder only while the pres- 
sure of the atmosphere, by its power, forces the 
water into the cylinder of the pump, and is able to 
do this to a vertical height of 34 feet.” 

After listening to this explanation of the pump’s 
action by Mr. Chilton, James was filled with wonder 
and delight, and his remark was: 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


97 


am well paid for my journey to tHe factory 
to-day, and I thank you very much, Mr. Chilton, 
for your kindness.’' 

‘'James, ” replied the engineer, “it is a delight to 
give you any information I may possess, for I feel 
that it will not be a waste of time, but will bear 
fruit, and, like the famed painter of Seville, you 
will yet eclipse and be able to teach your teacher.” 

“The pump, though simple, is indeed a wonderful 
machine, and must be important in all parts of the 
world,” said the boy. 

“Yes,” replied Mr. Chilton, “and only the other 
day I read an account in a newspaper of how an 
officer in the American army saved the lives of 
hundreds of his men by the use of an ordinary suc- 
tion pump.” 

“But how could the pump be the means of saving 
the lives of the soldiers?” inquired James. 

“Well,” replied Mr. Chilton, “there was a wartbe- 
tween the Northern and Southern States of America, 
and as a branch of the Southern army was about 
to retreat from one of its own towns, which it ex- 
pected the Northern soldiers to capture, the SoutH- 


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erners poisoned the water in all the wells of the 
place, in order that the Federal soldiers might die 
by drinking the water from these wells, which were 
the only places where drinking water could be 
secured. But on the arrival of the Northern soldiers 
a negro woman who knew of this cautioned them 
about drinking the water thus poisoned. This 
news was conveyed to the general in command, who 
at once gave orders to his chief officer in the engi- 
neer Corps to make provision for securing pure water 
for drinking purposes, as this was even more impor- 
tant to them than bread. 

“And among the corps of engineers was one 
genius, who conceived the idea of sharpening the 
end of a piece of iron pipe, and, with small holes, 
drilled around it a few inches above the pointed end, 
he drove the pipe down several feet into the sandy 
earth and connected a suction pump at its upper end, 
by which an abundance of pure drinking water was 
secured. This kind of pump is known as the driven 
well pump, and operates on the same principle as 
that described, by taking its water from the stream, 
for in thi§ case also it is the atmospheric pressure 


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99 


that forces the water through the loose or sandy earth 
and up the tube to the pump.” 

Aside from the story of the pump playing an im- 
portant part in the American war, James Raymond 
had other reasons for remembering this, one of the 
most bloody struggles between nations of modern 
times, for his Uncle Ned, his mother’s brother, after 
serving three years as a volunteer in the Union army, 
during which time he was in many hard engage- 
ments, was killed on the battlefield near the close 
of the war. And even to this day James himself 
carries a mark which was caused indirectly by this 
great American war. 

At this time pieces of iron about two inches square 
and eighteen inches long were being cast at the 
Wylam blast furnace, which were to be shipped to 
America to be used in bomb-shells during the war. 
While visiting his father one day at the furnace, 
James allowed one of these irons of destruction to 
fall on the first finger of his left hand, which split 
the nail and otherwise jammed the member. In time 
the injured finger healed up as strong and healthy 
as the other fingers, but the nail never grew to its 


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original shape, and it still shows where it had been 
split. 

In the neighborhood of the village of Wylam, 
where James lived, there was a large steam power 
pump, which worked night and day, drawing water 
from the lower veins of the coal mines, and this 
water was used by the villagers for drinking pur- 
poses, as it was clear and healthy, and while it was 
quite a distance for many of the people to carry most 
of the water they used, James often made these trips 
for his mother with two good-sized pails, in which 
he carried the water, using a barrel hoop to keep 
the pails from striking his legs, by walking inside 
the hoop. But it was not the hoop or the pails that 
the boy cared for, but the pumps, with their pon- 
derous walking-beams, as they bowed down, as it 
were, every few moments, and rose again with tons 
of water, which flowed away through a large under- 
ground channel, where it became an old mill stream. 
After passing a few hundred feet through the 
ground, the water appeared near the brink of a high 
precipice, where it dashed down on to the buckets 
of a giant mill wheel, whose motion furnished the 


FROM PIT TO PALACE loi 

power to operate all the machinery in the flour mill. 

James would often tell his mother that she needed 
more water, and she, knowing very well what he 
meant, would not object to him going for more 
water,, even though she had plenty. But when the 
boy started on his watering trips, his mother never 
expected him back in a hurry, for if he could not 
find the man who looked after the pumps, he would 
go to the flour mill and there chat with the miller 
and some of his assistants until he had satisfied him- 
self that all the wheels were going around properly 
and as usual, and then he would fill his pails and 
go home with the water, forgetting that his clothes 
showed where he had been, as it was impossible to 
go through a flour mill in operation without carry- 
ing away a considerable quantity of the flour on his 
clothes. 

The sound of the mill hoppers, which could be 
heard at some distance from the mill, in constant 
motion day and night, was not noise, but music, to 
young Raymond, while to other boys of the village 
these same sounds were dreaded, and the old mill 
itself was a place they would never think of enter-’ 


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ing, for it was more than a hundred years old and 
built of rough stone, with the side on which the 
wheel was located many stories in height. The front 
or opposite side of the mill was low, so from this 
side there were many flights of stairs to descend 
before the ground or bottom floor could be reached. 
These floors had no windows to give light, except 
from the rear, and they were narrow and few. It 
was a dark place even on the brightest day, and 
lanterns were used to give the necessary light. These 
consisted of a candle surrounded by a piece of punc- 
tured tin, and the punctures were usually filled with 
dust. The roof of the old stone flour mill had but 
one pitch to it, which rose from the ground on one 
side to the gable of the opposite side, and consisted 
of large flagstones covered with moss, and from 
portions of which good crops of grass could be 
reaped in summer time. James loved this old mill. 
Even its exterior architecture was a picture to him, 
while its dark and dusty interior, with its furnish- 
ings of shaftings, gear and pulley wheels, buckets, 
its weighty revolving millstones and the sounds each 
produced were feasts to his eyes and ears alike. 


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103 


THe engines tHat furnished the power for the large 
bearm pumps were of the uprigHt cylinder, con- 
densing type, and were the largest ever built up to 
that time; while the boilers in which the necessary 
steam was generated for the engines were of the 
haystack type — the oldest style made. They were 
about the shape of an iron teakettle, and each one as 
large as an ordinary round haystack, after which 
they were named. It was often necessary to clean 
the interior of these boilers, as it is with all steam 
power boilers, owing to the fact that mechanical mat- 
ter or mud in the water adheres to the walls and bot- 
tom of the boiler and becomes baked practically into 
stone, clinging so firm to the iron that sharp chisels 
and hammers are necessary to cut it from its bed. 
And on many of these occasions James would climb 
down through the manhole door and remain for 
hours with the men in the interior of the boilers, 
watching them work by the light of a smoky lamp. 

Our young student of philosophy knew the inte- 
rior and exterior of all things in the old mill, as 
well as the pump and boiler house, but there was one 
part of the old mill stream that he did not under- 


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Stand, and this he kept in his mind until he paid 
another visit to Ned Jackson's when the matter was 
explained by Ned's uncle to the satisfaction of 
the boy. 

Between the mouth of the pumps where the stream 
started and its outlet above the mill wheel there was 
a deep cut in the ground at right angles with the 
stream, at the bottom of which was a railroad track, 
and this was twenty feet or so lower than the outlet 
of the mill stream. So the water in its course passed 
down a vertical shaft to a point lower than the track, 
then under, and up through another shaft at the 
opposite side where it flowed away to the mill wheel 
without any perceptible obstruction. James had ob- 
served many things in a different light since he last 
visited the Jacksons. He began to think that every- 
thing did move and that water was the most wonder- 
ful of all. These thoughts made him forget how 
hard his work was at the factory, and the time 
passed quickly while he was believing that every- 
thing was constantly in motion and that he himself 
was something, never resting except when under the 
influence of sleep, and even then moving in dreams 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


los 

of machinery and his work. So tired would he 
be at night that after supper he would often fall fast 
asleep on the stone hearth before the grate fire, 
where his mother, unable to awaken him, would 
undress and put her boy to bed without his knowl- 
edge. 

James now began to feel keenly the necessity of a 
schooling. He saw that it would be impossible to 
be told by word of mouth all the things he wanted 
to know; besides, there was figuring to be done, 
even in mechanics, and before he could attain much 
success it would be necessary to have a good knowl- 
edge of reading, writing and mathematics. So he 
further loaded himself with work by procuring a 
set of school books, over which he spent some time 
in the evenings, while he practised writing with 
chalk or anything that would make a mark, during 
any spare moments he had at his work, as well as 
asking how to properly spell and pronounce hard 
words. 

Thus continued the active brain of this poor boy 
without rest for many years. Keeping in mind at 
all times that he desired to excel in his undertakings, 


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and knowing that he had but one road to success, 
which was hard work and perseverance, he went at 
everything with the same philosophical view, that 
even to complain would be a waste of time. When 
about to retire for the night, James, our young stu- 
dent of nature, would feel ashamed of himself if he 
had a doubt in his mind that he had not learned 
something since rising in the morning, and this is 
a quality that remained with him into the prime of 
life. He had the wisdom, although but a boy, which 
made him understand that time is short and valu- 
able, and that it is valuable because it is short, and 
therefore he could not afford to waste such precious 
moments. 


CHAPTER IX. 


THE FIRST FIRE ENGINE SEEN BY JAMES. 

About two miles distant from Bates’ factory there 
was a large farmyard, which contained many im- 
mense haystacks, and one day a young boy hiding 
behind one of these stacks of dry hay, while learning 
to smoke a pipe, set fire to the hay with a match. 
The farm hands did all in their power to extinguish 
the flames, but their efforts were in vain. The 
flames leaped a hundred feet or more up into the 
air, and spread to all the buildings in the neighbor- 
hood and totally destroyed them. The great tongues 
of flame were seen for miles, while the air was filled 
with smoke, resembling a volcano in action. Work 
was stopped at the factory, and all men were ordered 
to go at once and assist in extinguishing the fire. 
The boys of the factory also went, and James was 
among this number. 

There was no local fire company in any of the 
near-by villages, neither was there any telegraph nor 


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telephone communication by which word could be 
sent for assistance; so a man was despatched on 
horseback to the city of Newcastle, who spurred his 
horse to its utmost speed, making the distance of 
eighteen miles in about forty minutes and inform- 
ing the fire department of the conflagration. With 
the usual quickness of a well-organized fire com- 
pany, a spanking team of four spirited gray horses 
was sent out with a large hand engine, without a 
moment’s delay, and just as James arrived at the 
scene of destruction he noticed a cloud of dust com- 
ing along the well-macadamized turnpike road with 
a cyclonic motion. Nearer and nearer it came, now 
accompanied by a thunder-like noise, moving up and 
down hill alike with the same velocity. All eyes 
were now turned from the raging flames to watch 
the moving specter as it swept along the King’s high- 
way. Suddenly it left the road, dashing into a newly 
ploughed field, and out from under the cloud of dust 
could now be seen, taking a short cut toward the 
flaming hay, the foaming steeds whose speed never 
slackened until they were within scorching distance 
of the fire. 


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109 


In about five minutes the hose carried on the 
engine was unwound, stretched across a field, one 
end dipped into a pond from which water was 
pumped and forced with two good-sized streams on 
to the buildings; while a bucket brigade carried 
water from every available place and dashed it 
against the hot walls, where they thought it would 
do the most good. 

The engine or pump was operated by two long- 
handled levers, one on each side of the truck, which 
were propelled by about forty men, who were relieved 
every few minutes by as many more, thus keeping 
up a continuous flow of water on the Are. The 
usual excitement experienced by almost all persons 
while observing a great conflagration at close range 
was not strong enough on this occasion to make 
James forget his interest in water pumps, as in this 
case he had a good practical demonstration of its 
use under different circumstances and conditions 
from what he had seen before, and, taking advantage 
of the opportunity, he spent the day walking up and 
down along the line of hose from the pond to the 
engine. 


no 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


The efforts of the entire force made little impres- 
sion on the mountain of fire, which became less so 
toward evening, when the principal source of water 
supply was exhausted. The pond had been sucked 
dry by the engine, thus leaving the hundreds of will- 
ing hands helpless to further check the ravages of 
the flames. 

James felt proud of his knowledge of the pump 
that day, especially as he stood on the brink of the 
small pond watching the water gradually lower, and 
knowing it was atmospheric pressure that forced 
the water up into the hose and along the field to the 
engine. But while looking at the uncontrollable fire 
as it wiped away from view thousands of tons of 
hay and other things, new problems entered into his 
mind, chief of which were the causes of fire and 
what became of the things that were burned. When 
anything new and strange was observed by the boy, 
his thoughts would go back to Isaac Jackson, whom 
he knew could explain them, and as each day passed 
James kept piling up new questions to be answered 
by Ned Jackson’s uncle. 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


III 


JAMES BEGINS EXPERIMENTS. 

Noticing bright flames escaping from the brick 
kilns, which gave enough light to illuminate the fac- 
tory yards at night, James conceived the idea of pro- 
ducing a miniature gas machine, in which there was 
some utility as well as much amusement. This 
device consisted of a short piece of iron pipe, one end 
of which he stopped up with clay; then he filled the 
piece of pipe with fine soft coal and inserted at the 
upper end the stem of a clay smoking-pipe, joining 
it to the iron pipe also with soft clay. 

The lower or closed end of the iron pipe was 
inserted through the bars of the great fire at his 
home, where it would illuminate the room for more 
than an hour at a time with a single charge. The 
coal, becoming heated in the pipe, generated gas 
which escaped out through the pipe-stem at the upper 
end of the tube, and, being lighted, burned with a 
good-sized flame, though a little smoky. This was 
practically a gas retort, and is exactly the method 
of making gas even at the present time, except with 
a few improvements as to the washing and purify- 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


1 12 

ing of the gas, though James had never seen or read 
of a gas works. 

And although the boy did not follow up this first 
experiment at the time, but attended to his work 
every day at the factory, and the thoughts lay dor- 
mant for some years in his head, the time came when 
these thoughts woke up from their long sleep in his 
young brain and pushed aside all other thoughts, 
resulting in many important improvements in gas 
appliances. 

Aside from the gifts of natural talents that James 
brought with him into the world, he possessed that 
grandest of all qualities — sympathy for his fellow- 
creatures, which is the pinnacle of nobility. If he 
had a ha’penny or a penny in his pocket, and met a 
poor person whom he thought might need it, he 
would give it to him and then go on his way with 
an empty pocket but a light heart, feeling that he 
had done some good, the thought of which gave him 
more pleasure than he could receive from the littl^ 
change spent for sweetmeats. This noble quality 
ever remained with James, as his many public acts 
of kindness and charity attest, without making men- 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


113 

tion of hundreds of similar instances that may never 
be made public on earth. 

Ned Jackson’s house was situated on the outSKirts 
of the village of Wylam, and in the rear of it there 
was a railroad over which coal cars passed daily on 
their way to Lementon, where the coal was trans- 
ferred to boats on the river Tyne, as previously men- 
tioned. One day young Ned, while some distance 
from home, climbed on to the bumper of one of the 
cars to ride as far as his house, and by the time the 
train reached the rear of Ned’s home its motion was 
rapid, and in jumping off Ned fell and broke one of 
his arms. This laid Ned up, and for several weeks 
he was unable to leave the house. During this time 
James made many visits to his young sick friend, 
with a twofold object. 


CHAPTER X. 


JAMES ASKS MORE QUESTIONS OF ISAAC JACKSON. 

Seated again in their usual places around the 
Jackson fireside, James started the conversation by 
telling Ned’s uncle that he had noticed the sun move, 
and related his observations on the factory wall, 
where the sun ray was made to answer a timepiece. 

Mr. Jackson here explained that it was not the 
sun’s motion that caused the sun ray to move along 
the wall of the room, as James supposed, but the 
motion of the earth itself as it revolved on its axis. 

‘‘You must remember, boys,” remarked the man 
of science, “that the earth has two motions, as far 
as we know; and one of these motions may be 
likened to the spinning of a top revolving on what 
we call its axis — an imaginary line through its cen- 
ter, and in this motion it makes just one turn in 
twenty-four hours, and this is called our day. But, 
unlike a top spinning around in one position, the 
world moves bodily in another direction around the 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


115 

sun, but still continuing its spinning motion. One 
revolution in this way requires three hundred and 
sixty-five days of time, which period is called a 
year.’’ 

'Then the earth moves and the sun stands still?” 
inquired James. 

"No; the sun does not stand still. It has its 
motion as well as other spheres, but carries its family 
of planets with it in such a way that to us on the 
earth it is practically stationary ; and yet it is known 
that the sun travels more than 150,000,000 miles 
each year.” 

"Then there are other suns than the one that con- 
trols the earth?” asked James. 

"Oh, yes,” replied Isaac Jackson. "Many of the 
little flickering lights that we see in the sky at night, 
and call stars, are really greater suns and worlds, 
and many of them are hundreds of times larger 
than the world on which we live. They are 
all in motion, whirling and darting through space 
with lightning speed, but the system is so well calcu- 
lated that the greatest harmony exists between them, 
moving as they do for millions of years without the 


ii6 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


slightest interruptions from each other. It is not 
a part of nature for anything, to be absolutely at 
rest, as I told you some nights ago, but our limited 
faculties make it impossible for us to observe the 
many things that move on every side of us, and 
therefore it is only the few things we notice. 

‘‘But how do all these millions of worlds and 
suns, with their stars, comets and moons, find room 
enough in their movements without hitting each 
other? you perhaps would like to ask,” continued 
Mr. Jackson. “This is as simple as any other feat- 
ures of the great universe, for if there were as many 
more great spheres, and their orbits or distance of 
travel were doubled, there would still be room left 

(S 

for as many more in the great and boundless space 
of the universe. When we look up into the sky 
we are gazing into the greatest of all mysteries, 
which we call space. No human mind can conceive 
the meaning of a vessel that is known to hold some- 
thing, but which has no sides, top, bottom or ends; 
and yet we can understand how it would be impos- 
sible for the universe to have an end or size, which 
makes it still more mysterious. In this boundless 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


117 


space of the universe there is no latitude or longitude, 
no center, no east, west, north or south, and it can 
only be compared to the meaning of the word eter- 
nity, while the great spheres are mere specks floating 
through its fathomless mystery.” 

It will be seen that these talks were the same as 
night schools which James attended, and while such 
meetings were not looked upon in the light of a 
school by the Jacksons, James took advantage of 
such instructive recitals, which proved to be the 
same to him as a private tutor would be to a rich 
man's son, and in this way the boy gained a good 
knowledge of astronomy, as well as natural philoso- 
phy and the principles of mechanics. 

Our young student was now reading in his own 
way any book or paper he could get hold of, but he 
preferred that which pertained to mechanics to any- 
thing else; and, being in a hurry to gain time in 
mathematics, he started at cube root or evolution, 
and, strange as it may appear, he was soon able to 
do most difficult problems. 

In this he had much amusement with his boy 
companions where he worked, by proving to them 


ii8 FROM PIT TO PALACE 

that he could tell the exact distance from one cor- 
ner of the floor at the end of a room to the opposite 
side corner of the other end by knowing only the 
length and width of the room, which is meant, in 
school terms, finding the hypothenuse; and now 
James could find the circumference of a diameter as 
well as the area of a circumference, and figure the 
contents of any shaped vessel, but he found very few 
of the mechanics with whom he came in contact 
who could understand how to obtain the correct 
circumference of a diameter, and this prompted him 
to produce one of his first practical inventions. It 
was a circumference rule for mechanics. 

As time went by, the young hero of our story 
became a factor at Bates’ works, filling, at one 
time or another, nearly every position of importance, 
and working his way to that of assistant superin- 
tendent. In this capacity James felt the necessity 
of a knowledge of mechanical draughting, for there 
were new moulds to be made frequently, at which 
a number of patternmakers were employed, and as 
drawings came with new orders, it was necessary 
to understand them and make changes at times. 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


119 


To acquire this necessary knowledge James induced 
a mechanical draughtsman of the village, by name of 
Goff, to start a night school for boys in draughting, 
which appealed to Mr. Goff as a good idea. The 
school was started at once, and proved a success 
from the beginning. As the tuition was a nominal 
sum, many boys as well as men availed themselves 
of this opportunity to learn mechanical draughting. 

James was always thinking of how to do things 
in a more perfect manner as well as in less time, 
for he considered that there were just two good 
points in doing or making anything that were 
worthy of mention, and these points were to do 
the task as well as it could be done; and the other 
point was to do it quickly. 

He considered that almost anything could be ac- 
complished in time, but the man who did his work 
well and in the least time was worth more than 
others. 

These thoughts instilled in his young mind were 
the cause of his producing many time and labor' 
saving devices, and even at the draughting class 
one of these was produced. 


120 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


Each student had a little table in the classroom 
for himself, on which was a small drawing board, 
and in the beginning the instruments used were 
simply a tee square, a triangle, a pocket rule and 
a pencil, while Mr. Goff took his position in front 
of the class, where he had a large blackboard, on 
which he drew the lessons and gave measurements 
which were to be drawn by each pupil. Mr. Goff 
was a rapid talker, and one of his ideas in teaching 
was to have his pupils learn to catch what he said 
without having to repeat his words. This was hard 
for beginners, and as the teacher allowed very little 
time between his orders concerning what they were 
to do, many were found without a drawing, except 
a line or two, at the end of the lesson, when Mr. 
Goff went around examining each pupil’s work. 
James himself found the orders given too rapidly 
for him to follow the teacher with his work for the 
first few nights after the class had been formed, 
but he made up his mind that he would do his 
work as quick as any other boy hereafter, even if he 
had to invent a way to do it. 

Some of Mr. Goff’s orders were as follows : 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


I2I 


“Boys, place your tee squares near the bottom 
of the board and draw a base line.” 

Now, every one grabbed his tee square and made 
his base line as ordered as rapidly as possible, know- 
ing that the next order would be given in his next 
breath; but some of the boys would not have their 
hands on the square as the order was given, and 
in making a grab for it to get it in position often 
let the square fall on the floor, or hit against the 
table, making a clatter of noise that could be heard 
some distance outside the room, and often, in stoop- 
ing to lift the instrument from the floor in a hurry, 
the pupils upset their neighbor's table, making them 
lose time, and spoil the drawing as well as losing 
some good temper. 

The next order from Mr. Goff would be to draw 
a vertical line intersecting with the base so many 
inches high, and given in one breath. 

Now, to do this it was necessary to have the tee 
square in position on the base line, and held there 
by one hand, while the triangle had to be brought 
into use for the purpose of making the vertical line 
which had to be at right angles with the base ; and 


122 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


after the vertical line was made the triangle was 
laid aside and the rule picked up to get the inches 
in height as required. 

In doing this there was considerable fumbling, 
and sometimes the rule would be found in a bad 
position to use it at a moment’s notice. It would 
be found wrong end foremost or upside down, and 
in noticing these things James made up his mind 
that there were too many tools or instruments, and 
he saw how he could make one answer for at least 
two of these purposes. 

James took his triangle and marked the scale of 
inches and fractions thereof on each side of it, at 
the same time taking care not to nick the edges, as 
that might interfere with drawing a perfect line, 
and this he used for the double purpose of triangle 
and rule. When he laid down the triangle to make 
any kind of a line with it, he had both the line and 
measurement at the same time in one operation, 
thus doing this part of the work in half the time 
it required previously, which gave him time to spare 
for the following order of the teacher. 


CHAPTER XL 


ROMANCE BEGINS. 

After learning the rudiments of mechanical 
draughting, the work became both easy and inter- 
esting to the boy superintendent of the Bates fac- 
tory, for he easily understood the various parts of 
machinery, which made his work of drawing simple. 

When a steam cylinder, a valve or a section of a 
wheel was to be drawn, they were so familiar to 
his eye that it appeared to him like meeting with an 
old friend, and therefore was more pleasure than 
work. 

One winter was all the time that James attended 
the drawing school, and this was sufficient for his 
purpose, which enabled him not only to make a very 
respectable drawing in ink, but to understand and 
read any mechanical drawing. 

James Raymond had now spent a few years at 
hard study without neglecting the work which was 
necessary for his support, as well as to assist at 


124 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


home, and thus occupied, he had little time to spare 
for sports or pleasure among the boys and girls 
of the village, and, as a consequence, had not seen 
Miss Baxter in many moons, but he had not for- 
gotten her, for the very thoughts of her loveliness 
gave him the power of endurance and to persevere 
in his work. 

Robert Maxwell, the son of a rich widow of the 
village, and who was studying for the ministry, had 
been home from school for some time, and being 
a young man of refinement and pleasing manners, 
who dressed in the very best and latest fashion, was 
looked upon as the elite of the place. Robert was 
not only tasty in his dress and manners, but he 
had a taste for the beautiful, which brought him in 
contact with the fair misses of the village, with 
whom he became a great favorite. 

Mr. Baxter, by his careful and good management 
of the coal works, had been given an interest in 
the mines, which now made him a rich man, and 
taking matters a little more easily in life, he placed 
his son, William Baxter, in charge of the coal works 
as superintendent. 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


125 


The Baxters now lived in style, having their own 
horses, carriages and coachmen, which were kept 
busy by Mrs. Baxter and her daughter in their fre- 
quent drives through the village and country, 
especially during Miss Sally’s vacations from school. 

Young Raymond, now acting in the capacity of 
assistant superintendent at Bates’s factory, induced 
his father to leave the blast furnace at Wylam and 
take a position under himself at the factory, and, 
to be close to their work, they moved from Wylam 
to the village of Hedden-on-the-Wall, a place beauti- 
fully situated on a high hill about one mile distant 
from the works. This is also an historical village, 
and takes its name from the ancient wall built about 
eighteen hundred years ago by a Roman Emperor, 
Hadrian, for the defense of the Roman province in 
Britain. This great wall was sixty miles long, ex- 
tending from Solway Firth to the North Sea, near 
the mouth of the River Tyne, and portions of it can 
still be seen in the village, through which the wall 
was built. 

Most of the persons employed in the Bates fac- 
tory and coal mines lived in the village of Hedden- 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


• 126 

on-the-Wall, as did also the Bates family, who prac- 
tically owned not only the works, but most of the 
land for miles around the village, which they had 
inherited for generations, and were thus immensely 
wealthy. Counsellor Bates, the head of his great 
family, was a member of Parliament for two or 
three terms, and spent much of his time in London, 
where his wife and children also lived during the 
sessions of Parliament, and to be with their eldest 
son, young Squire Bates, who attended one of the 
London colleges. 

But Hedden Hall, the country seat of the Bates 
family, situated on a prominence, which overlooked 
a beautiful valley, and having a front southeastern 
exposure, with its back up against a hill, where the 
cold winds from the snow-capped Cheviot Hills 
could never be felt, while in the valley below there 
was a good panoramic view of the River Tyne as it 
zigzagged its way to the sea, was their favorite 
place of abode. Here they enjoyed their summers 
in a quiet paradise, in which there was no end of 
rare plants and shrubs, while the blended perfumes 
of every variety of flower gave the place an atmos- 



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FROM PIT TO PALACE 


127 


phere that made one think, when inside the beautiful, 
rustic lodge-gate, that they had entered the garden 
of Paradise. The coach road leading from the 
lodge-gate to the stone mansion was laid out in a 
serpentine shape, extending about half a mile, and 
lined on each side with great trees, whose tops 
formed an arch over the road, while the roadbed was 
made of red cinder, kept in a most perfect manner, 
and whose color gave a pleasing contrast with the 
borders of beautiful flowers and foliage on each 
side, from the lodge-gate to the great mansion. 

James frequently had messages to deliver to 
Hedden Hall pertaining to important business con- 
nected with the factory, which not only gave him 
access to the beautiful grounds, but which brought 
him in direct contact with Counsellor Bates him- 
self and his son, the young Squire. 

As a matter of greater convenience, the Baxter 
family also moved to the village of Hedden-on-the- 
Wall, where they occupied a beautiful stone villa, 
formerly used by Doctor Bates, a retired physician 
and a relative of Counsellor Bates. This was con- 
soling to the boy superintendent of Bates’ factory. 


128 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


who would again have some opportunities of seeing 
Miss Baxter, at least at a distance, for, as they 
had become rich, James felt he was not in their 
class, and could not expect the elder Baxters to 
look on him with favor as a suitor for Miss Sally. 
Besides, there was Robert Maxwell, who was now 
studying with the minister of Hedden Church, where 
he expected to reside for the next few years, and 
even young Squire Bates was not one to shut his 
eyes on the good-looking girls of the village during 
his time spent at home from college. But there 
were other young men of the village and some city 
chaps who were awake to the fact that the queen 
of beauty now reigned in the village of Hedden, 
and the thoughts of such obstacles in his way gave 
James more worriment than all the machinery in 
the factory. 

Miss Sally was not only beautiful, but she was a 
lady who never forgot herself in recognizing her old 
playmates with a pleasant bow, and this James could 
depend on receiving whenever it was his good for- 
tune to meet her, even as she drove by with her 
father, and for this pleasure he often walked miles 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


129 


out of his way, and then felt that he was repaid 
tenfold for his trouble. 

James often wondered if Miss Baxter had any 
thoughts of him as he had of her, and sometimes 
began to think that such thoughts of a rich man’s 
daughter were mere foolish dreams for any poor 
boy to entertain. As he had now become a student 
of nature as well as of mechanics, he was well 
aware that money was the greatest factor as a 
standard by the masses, and without it all his knowl- 
edge and talents would never win for him the ideal 
of his heart. And while the Baxter family had 
risen within the last few years from modest circum- 
stances, James felt that they were of a more noble 
type than the masses, and who could appreciate 
talents and character above that of money, so they 
were never considered by him as the class alluded to 
in the following verses written by James himself, 
which give his sentiments on such matters : 

THE WELCOME THAT COUNTS WITH ME. 

There’s a hypocritic welcome I do despise. 

Which means the amount you have got; 


130 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


If it's large, you're accepted, no matter what else. 
But if small, you are dropped on the spot ; 

So it's foolish to call while your income is small. 
No matter how good you may be. 

For the iceberg reception you’re sure to receive 
Proves the texture of those you would see. 

You may be clever, proud, handsome and tall. 

And free as an infant from vice, 

Yet without the spot cash, though questionable trash. 
You can never hope to ‘‘be nice.” 

So don't waste your time where deception’s no crime. 
And the meaning of “welcome’s” not known. 

As it takes a true heart for this to impart, 

And should not be expected from stone. 

And yet there’s a welcome that brightens the heart, 
And throws the sun’s light into shade. 

Like the true mother’s welcome to her own dear child. 
Who for many years may have strayed. 

Or the welcome that’s known by the manly grasp. 
Which speaks both clear and free. 

And never prompted by style or by cash — 

That’s the welcome that counts with me. 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


1333 


While the knowledge which James had acquired 
by this time of human nature in general made him 
feel sorry to know that there is more deception in 
what is called the human race than there is among 
the dumb animals, it had the effect of further stimu- 
lating him in his efforts to make a success in life. 
He found by this time that money talks loudest. He 
knew now that the average young lady saw beauty 
and nobleness in the most idiotic form in a man 
whom they knew to have wealth. James also knew 
that the average father and mother considered 
money the only necessary qualification for the ad- 
mittance to the company of their daughters, and, 
with the thoughts of these facts staring him in the 
face day and night, there was but little hope of his 
winning the grandest prize of his life’s contest. 
Yet he was of the kind that never consider the prize 
lost until the game is ended, and, with the odds 
against him, James had two points which he con- 
sidered in his favor, by which he might yet win. 

He carried a hope in his heart that the Baxter 
family were not of the average type, but more noble, 
as he read it in their faces. Besides, their many 


132 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


acts of true kindness gave further weight to this 
belief. Janies was now acting on the stage of life, 
and, in order to prove himself a star, it would be 
necessary to win the applause of the whole com- 
munity, which would be a lever and a stepping stone 
to fortune. 

The second hope entertained by the now young 
man of the bare chance to win lay in his own powers 
of perseverance under difficulties, for he expected 
no assistance, and never got in the habit of waiting 
or looking for help from others. James was ac- 
customed to fighting his own battles, for he well 
understood the deception and weakness of humanity 
in shunning those who need help, but offering its 
assistance to those who do not require it; so that 
with this knowledge of hypocrisy as the dominating 
principle in humanity in general, he felt it no great 
task to rise far above the average person in principle, 
and, with his genius, should excel even in fame and 
fortune. 


CHAPTER XIL 


BEGINS FURTHER STUDIES AT HOME. 

Young Raymond’s mother was kept busy from 
now on making tallow dips, as he required plenty 
of light at his studies, drawing and experiments, 
which he conducted evenings at home. Besides, he 
took up music again, and became quite proficient 
as a violinist, and this he used to good advantage 
on more than one occasion. Yet James never 
allowed this home duty to interfere with his duties 
at the factory, and, feeling his responsibility, con- 
ducted everything with more care and anxiety than 
if he had been owner of the works himself. 

On many occasions Mr. Hall, the general man- 
ager, was called to the city, where special business 
detained him for days at a time. Besides, he went 
abroad frequently, and traveled through Continental 
Europe for his health, and at such times young 
Raymond had full charge of the factory. 

James usually took advantage of Mr. Hall’s 


134 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


sojourns on the Continent by having some pleasant 
surprise for him on his return in the way of im- 
provements in some of the machinery or methods 
of operating, through which better and more work 
was done in less time and at less cost. 

In order to have his son become familiar with 
his property, Counsellor Bates had given orders to 
the young Squire to visit all parts of his estate 
as often as he was able during vacations from col- 
lege, and as the factory was quite an extensive plant, 
it required more of the young Squire’s time than did 
most parts of his father’s estate. So in this way 
the young, self-made superintendent of the works 
was compelled to frequently come in contact with 
young Squire Bates, as he came home from the 
London College every summer, where he was now 
studying physics and the higher branches. 

As is usual with young college students anxious 
to display their knowledge, and at the same time 
show the ignorance of others less fortunate, James 
expected to be humiliated by the fresh young 
student, who was now the real master of the great 
Bates estate; but in this James was agreeably mis- 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


135 


taken, as he found the young Squire to be an excep- 
tion to the rule of college students, who proved 
himself to be a real noble. 

In making the rounds through his father's estate, 
young Squire Bates usually rode horseback, using 
one of his favorite saddle horses, and occasionally 
came to the works in a carriage, driving himself; 
and it was his custom to go direct to the office of 
the factory, which was a modest one-story brick 
structure, situated on a little knoll near the main 
entrance to the works. Here the Squire would 
alight and tie his horse to a hitching-post in front 
of the office door; but, as a matter of courtesy and 
respect, when any of the office help saw the Squire's 
horse coming in that direction, they would hurry 
out and take hold of the horse's head until the Squire 
alighted, and afterwards tie his horse to the post 
for him, and this James himself frequently did for 
the young Squire. 

The young master usually addressed his inquiries 
to the general manager, Mr. Hall, who read for 
him any important communications in which he 
might be interested, and on which the Squire's ad- 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


136 

vice was invited. Besides, he would look over new 
orders as well as scan the sales book to see what 
orders had been filled since the previous visit. This 
done, young Mr. Bates, when his time permitted, 
would stroll through the factory, and, as a matter 
of both duty and courtesy, either Mr. Hall or James, 
his assistant, would accompany the young student 
to explain and answer his frequent questions as they 
entered the various departments. 

This task usually fell to James, as Mr. Hall’s time 
was now principally taken up with office work, and 
the two young men — for the Squire was not much 
older than James — had many a friendly argument 
on both practical and scientific questions, from 
which they both acquired much important knowl- 
edge. Counsellor Bates’ coal works being in close 
proximity to this factory, it was part of the young 
Squire’s business to visit that also, where he con- 
sulted with Mr. William Baxter, the now young 
superintendent of the mines, and this he usually did 
after making his rounds with James, so in this 
capacity the Squire had also a young man in a 
responsible position to deal with. 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


137 


Sliortly after the young student's advent to the 
duties of looking after his father's estate, a slight 
accident happened at his coal mines one Saturday 
afternoon, when a miner had one of his legs broken 
by a falling rock while at work hewing coal. As 
the young Squire was not in the village that day, 
he did not hear of the accident until he arrived home 
the next morning, which was Sunday, and, being 
anxious to get the particulars, he drove to the Baxter 
villa in order to interview young Mr. William 
Baxter. Alighting from his saddle. Squire Bates 
stepped to the door and pulled the bell. He had not 
tied his horse, which now began to nibble at the jack 
roses, which drooped in clusters from a dozen or 
more bushes on each side of the driveway in front 
of the house, and just as he was about to leave the 
door to look after his horse, which had now scam- 
pered in through the beautiful flower beds on 
noticing on the opposite side a nice grassy spot that 
was more attractive to him than the flowers, the 
Squire heard someone tripping lightly down the 
front staircase, whom he supposed to be one of the 
maids coming to answer the bell call, thus taking 


138 


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his attention from the horse. It being Sunday morn- 
ing, and about church time, Miss Baxter was al- 
ready dressed in her rustling silks, which were be- 
coming to her matchless beauty, and thinking it 
was her father's coachman who was ready to take 
her to church, carelessly opened the vestibule door. 

The young Squire, being in a hurry that morning 
to learn particulars of the accident, had not dressed 
with any special care. He simply pulled on an old pair 
of riding boots without the spurs, and in his haste 
forgot to push one leg of his trousers into the boot, 
leaving it resting on top of the boot leg in folds like 
an accordion, and as if he had specially planned to 
look as untidy as possible. The coat he had on was 
the property of one of his stable men, which showed 
it had seen better days. He had not noticed these 
little tokens of carelessness on his part until the 
vestibule door had opened, and probably would not 
have noticed then had he not made a deep and polite 
bow with his head when he saw who opened the 
door. 

“Good morning,” said the young Squire in a 
blushing and embarrassed manner, but pronouncing 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


139 


his words in as sweet a tone as his powers could 
command. 

“Good morning, sir,” replied Miss Baxter. 

“Pardon me, madam, for calling at such a time 
and in such a condition, for I wish to see Mr. 
William Baxter, in order to get particulars regard- 
ing the accident at the mines yesterday. I am Mr. 
Bates.” 

“I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. 
Bates. Come right in, and I will call my brother,” 
and as Miss Sally showed the young Squire the way 
to the parlor she told him that the poor man was 
doing well. “The doctor set the fractured limb, and 
mamma and I made everything as comfortable as 
possible for him and his family before we left his 
house last evening.” 

“I am glad to hear that the poor man is doing 
well, and that his life will be spared to his family. 
Besides, I am pleased to know that there are some 
people in our village who take such interest in the 
poor as you and your mother have done in this 
case.” 

In recognizing this compliment with a slight bow. 
Miss Baxter replied : 


140 


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‘'We love the poor, and not only because my 
father was a poor boy, but because God loves the 
poor, and they need more help than the rich; and 
mamma says there is no better way to please God 
than to do what we can for the poor.” 

These were new sentiments that the young master 
of the great Bates estate had never before heard, 
either at home or at college, and they impressed him 
as something nobler than any thoughts he had ever 
before entertained. 

Just now Mr. William Baxter entered the parlor, 
bidding the Squire “good morning.” 

“Good morning, Mr. Baxter,” responded Mr. 
Bates. “I see it is about church time, and I will not 
detain you. I just rode up to inquire about the 
cause of the accident at the mines yesterday, but a.s 
the poor man is not dangerously injured, and is 
doing well, I feel relieved, and will not enter into 
the question of what caused the accident to-day.” 

While Mr. Bates was thus addressing Mr. Baxter 
they were slowly moving towards the front door, 
but before the Squire had time to leave the veranda 
Mr. Baxter’s coachman drove up with the open 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 141 

carriage to take Miss Sally to church, and immedi- 
ately on the arrival of the carriage Miss Baxter 
came onto the veranda, and bade the young Squire 
“good morning” as she was stepping without assist- 
ance into her conveyance. 


CHAPTER XIIL 


MISS BAXTER DRIVES TO CHURCH. 

And as the carriage moved off from the house 
along the winding driveway, the young Squire 
plainly noticed that the roses drooped their heads in 
shame as Miss Baxter in her queenly robes passed 
them by behind a well-groomed team of bays. The 
impression made on the young heir to millions by 
Miss Baxter’s sentiments in the parlor were eclipsed 
by the living picture he feasted his eyes on as Miss 
Sally passed out of view on her way to divine 
service. 

Here again the young student noticed his awk- 
wardness or lack of thought, after it was too late, 
in not assisting Miss Baxter into her carriage, and 
he began to wonder what she would think of his 
stupidity, not to mention the slovenly manner in 
which he was attired in her presence. The young 
Squire felt ashamed of himself when the chiselled 
features of Miss Baxter, with tints that made the 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


143 


roses blush, came fresh to his brain, and her dainty 
foot was not forgotten in the scene as she stepped 
to her seat that morning. 

Young William Baxter intended to accompany 
his sister to church, as it was his usual custom, but 
on account of having some business with Mr. Bates, 
he did not attend the morning services that Sunday, 
and as Miss Baxter was delayed in leaving the house, 
the morning service had begun before she arrived at 
church. 

The Baxter family pew was situated in the middle 
aisle of the church, and well up near the sanctuary, 
to where Miss Sally marched with her usual graceful 
step; and as she was a little late, all eyes rested 
on her queenly form until she was seated in her 
pew. 

The hurry and little excitement which she had 
undergone that morning, as well as being conscious 
of the lateness of the hour, brought forth that blush 
of mildness to Miss Sally^s cheeks, which brought 
even greater charms to her matchless beauty. 

Robert Maxwell, the young student, was in the 
sanctuary this morning assisting the minister in 


144 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


conducting the service, but the thoughts of Miss 
Baxter had more charms for Robert than the 
mysteries of theology, and he, too, had watched Miss 
Sally as she came up the aisle some time after the 
services had started. 

But Robert had noticed more than Miss Sally^s 
charming form. He saw that she had no escort 
that morning, and at once the thought entered his 
head that this would be an excellent excuse to have 
a little chat with her after services. 

Miss Baxter’s piety was well known throughout 
the parish. Besides, she took much interest in church 
work, and thus disposed, carefully followed the 
minister in his text, as well as his every movement. 

Robert Maxwell, assisting the minister that morn- 
ing, concluded in his own mind that Miss Baxter’s 
thoughts and eyes rested on himself alone, and thus 
impressed, moved about the sanctuary with a more 
heavenly countenance and angelic step than that at 
the command of a saint; and while Mr. Maxwell 
knew that he had the reputation of being a most 
graceful young man, he concluded to give greater 
proof of it by his actions in the sanctuary that 
morning. 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


145 


After divine service, Robert Maxwell hurried 
to the front of the church, where he watched the 
Baxter carriage until he saw Miss Sally coming 
down the stone steps which led from the front 
entrance of the church to the street. With his usual 
gallant style he assisted Miss Baxter to her carriage, 
for which he received a “Thank you,” and a blush- 
ing smile. 

“I did not notice Mr. William at church this 
morning,” ventured Robert, as an excuse to start 
some kind of conversation. “I hope he is not ill.” 

“Oh, no; he is quite well, thank you; but he was 
detained at home by Squire Bates, who called early 
this morning,” replied Miss Baxter. 

“Indeed ! I did not know that the young Squire 
was home from London,” again ventured Robert. 

“Oh, yes; he has been home from London for 
some time,” said Miss Sally. 

This ended the conversation that morning, as 
the carriage was already in motion, and tipping his 
hat, Robert bade her “good day.” 

Robert Maxwell’s countenance changed as the 
Baxter carriage moved away from his view. His 


146 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


heart seemed to fall away from its accustomed place, 
and required the support of his left hand to hold its 
weight. His face grew pale and a general weakness 
made his entire body tremble. So deeply was Robert 
in love with Miss Sally that the thoughts of young 
Squire Bates calling at her home was a shock he 
never dreamed of receiving, and made it hard to 
stand. Mr. Maxwell did not care to make known 
the cause of his troubled feelings, as he had not 
even acquainted Miss Baxter with his intentions and 
hopes, so he thought it best to talk the matter over 
with himself and see what chance he had against 
young Squire Bates or any other young men to win 
the affections of Miss Baxter, and he argued with 
himself as follows : “Can it be possible that Squire 
Bates has become so infatuated with Miss Baxter 
that he must call at her house at an early hour on 
Sunday mornings? 

“What other business could he have there? Be- 
sides, he is not the kind to transact any commercial 
business on the Sabbath day. 

“I now see the meaning of his frequent glances 
an the direction of the Baxter pew at church, when 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


147 


I supposed the Squire was not even acquainted with 
Miss Sally. 

“But, on the other hand, as wealth is the dividing 
line in classes, the Squire’s parents could never con- 
sider any young lady in the Baxter’s circumstances 
good enough for their son, even though she was 
otherwise qualified for a queen. They are proud 
of their old stock, and with their wealth and their 
nobility none but those who can lay claim to a title 
as well as riches could ever be brought by their 
son to Hedden Hall. 

“This is the rule in England, but rules are some- 
times broken, as we find exceptions occasionally. 
Besides, I must admit that history repeats itself, and 
who knows but this is one of the exceptions to the 
rule. 

“I cannot blame young Bates or other young men 
for paying attention to Miss Baxter, for what claim 
have I on her more than others? I must not de- 
ceive myself. Besides, it is quite possible that she 
has never given me a thought. I now see my stu- 
pidity in thinking I had the whole field to myself. 
I must be more practical and not allow precious 
time to be lost. 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


i.\S 

‘‘I suppose the Baxters know very well that my 
mother is rich and I am her only heir, who will in- 
herit her wealth, and yet they may not know this. I 
must do something to put me in a more favorable 
light with the Baxters, and not allow my best hopes 
to be shattered without a struggle. 

^^But how can this be done? 

‘Tirst of all, I must make sure that both Miss 
Baxter and her parents know without a doubt that 
I am heir to a fortune. Besides, it might be well 
to have them know also that the Maxwell family 
has noble blood in its veins, as my father was a 
grandson of Lord Maxwell, and, with my ambition 
and opportunities, I may be Bishop of Northumber- 
land, though I am not yet ordained. 

*‘My mother knows that my heart has gone out 
in the direction of Miss Baxter for some time, and 
I am sure she would not oppose me should I confide 
in her my real hopes and intentions. I believe that 
she could assist me by becoming more neighborly 
with Mrs. Baxter, through which they would ex- 
change calls, and by acting as my mother’s escort I 
would have many opportunities of meeting both 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


149 


Miss Baxter and her parents. I will therefore lay 
my whole plan before my mother and ask for her 
co-operation and support.” 

Young Squire Bates was within a few rods of 
his father’s mansion, after walking from the Baxter 
villa that Sunday morning, when he thought of his 
horse, which he had totally forgotten in his excite- 
ment, and, retracing his steps, met Mr. William 
Baxter coming down from the village leading the 
horse by the bridle. 

‘‘I am under obligations to you for this, Mr. 
Baxter,” said the Squire, “and I must confess that 
I was absent-minded this morning in forgetting my 
horse as I left your house. And by the way, he must 
have done some damage in the garden.” 

“Oh, no,” replied William. “I found him quietly 
grazing in the grass plot, and no damage whatever 
has been done. But I feared when I saw him there 
that you might have slipped from the saddle on 
your way home, as you were no doubt laboring under 
excitement brought about by the accident of yester- 
day.” 

“Yes, I rather think so,” replied the young Squire 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


ISO 

as he shook hands, bidding Mr. Baxter good 
morning. 

Looking after Mr. Bates’ horse was the real 
cause of William Baxter failing to attend church 
that morning with his sister, although the distance 
from his house to the church was short. Though 
Robert Maxwell did not know it, Mr. Bates had 
never entered the Baxter house before that morning, 
which was also the first time he had met Miss 
Baxter. 

Seated again in his saddle, while his horse walked 
slowly home, the Squire addressed a few words 
to himself : 

*‘Yes,” said he, ‘T was laboring under excitement, 
and brought about, as Mr. Baxter truly said, 
through the accident of yesterday. But it was not 
the accident that made me forget my horse, but 
the thoughts of Mr. Baxter’s beautiful sister, whom 
I might never have met were it not for the accident 
in question. 

‘T believe,” continued Mr. Bates, ‘hhat she is the 
most beautiful girl in all England, and I would give 
half my life were she of noble birth, but it is stipu- 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


iSi 

lated in the will of my great-grandfather that any 
heir to his estate during the next five hundred years 
marrying contrary to his wishes shall lose his in- 
heritance. 

‘‘But I will not forget her loveliness, and trust that 
when the time comes for her to select a partner for 
life the lucky young man will be of noble character 
and worthy of such a gift/’ 


CHAPTER XIV. 


A DISAPPOINTMENT IN STORE FOR JAMES. 

A FEW weeks after this, while on his way to the 
factory, and driving through the village, he saw 
Miss Baxter on foot walking in the same direction. 
It was her custom to take this kind of exercise in 
fine weather for her health. As he 'drove up to her 
he stopped his horse. 

‘^Good afternoon. Miss Baxter,” said the young 
Squire. “You seem to be going in my direction, 
and I shall be pleased to drive you to your destina- 
tion, wherever that may be.” 

“I thank you very much, Mr. Bates. I am not 
on any special errand, but simply exercising.” 

“Then you will have time to ride with me to the 
factory, where I will stop for but a moment, and 
then drive you home.” 

The invitation to Miss Baxter was so urgent and 
her politeness so complete that she accepted the in- 
vitation and drove to the factory with young Squire 



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FROM PIT TO PALACE 


153 


Bates. On the way it was necessary to pass the 
minister’s house, the porch of which was situated 
quite close to the street. Now, just at this time it 
happened that Robert Maxwell was there in his shirt 
sleeves — for the day was warm — studying theology, 
which was no doubt mingled with love. 

Robert had just time enough to notice who the 
couple were as the carriage went by, and he saluted 
them with a bow. This was a stunning blow to 
the young student of theology, which made him 
conclude that his impressions of young Squire Bates 
were no dreams, but were in reality facts, and fur- 
ther proofs of the Squire’s intentions were un- 
necessary. 

As Mr. Bates drove up to the factory office that 
day James Raymond, the young superintendent, was 
just leaving the office door, and as he saw the 
Squire’s horse, hurried to its head, at the same time 
tipping his hat and bidding Mr. Bates ''good after- 
noon” as he stepped from his carriage. 

At the first glance James did not recognize who 
the lady was, and as she did not leave the carriage, 
James did not tie the horse as usual, but held it in- 


154 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


stead, knowing that as Mr. Bates had company he 
would not remain long in the office. Looking in 
the direction of the office door, with his hands still 
on the horse’s bridle, the vibrations from a sweet 
voice saying, “How do you do, James?” came 
to the young superintendent’s ears. While bash- 
fulness had prevented him from peering into the 
face of the lady in the carriage before this, he 
now lifted his head to reply to the voice. The 
thought flashed through his mind that this must be 
one of Mr. Bates’ sisters who knew him by name, 
but to his astonishment he found it to be none other 
than the ideal of his grandest hopes — Miss Sally 
Baxter. His eyes bulged out from their sockets as 
if they wished to change places when James realized 
who it was that addressed him. 

Seeing her right hand extended, James left the 
horse’s head and clasped it with a warmth that spoke 
louder than words. With her dainty Augers still 
in his manly grasp, after recovering a little from 
the surprise, he gasped: “This is an unexpected 
pleasure for me. Miss Sally, for our childhood days 
are ever in my mind, the sunshine of which hurl back 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


155 


the dark clouds that often hover over my life, and to 
again hold the little hand in reality that I knew so 
well in the minuet of years ago is indeed a pleasure 
that I deeply appreciate.” 

‘Tt is none the less a pleasure for me, James,” re- 
plied Miss Baxter, for I have not forgotten the 
days of which you speak. Besides, I hear of you 
frequently through William, who, like yourself, is 
ambitious and devoted to his business.” 

Miss Baxter was just finishing her last sentence 
as young Squire Bates left the office door. He at 
once noticed James in conversation with the young 
lady, and as he came to the carriage begged pardon 
for not introducing James to Miss Baxter. 

“It was unnecessary, Squire,” replied Miss Sally, 
“for we have known each other since childhood.” 

Stepping to her side in his carriage, Mr. Bates 
picked up the reins and drove away after saying: 
“I will not go with you to-day, James. Good after- 
noon.” 

Looking after the carriage until it passed out of 
sight, and without moving from the spot for some 
time, James felt stunned and bewildered. 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


ISO 

don’t know what to think of this,” said he. 
had my suspicions of the Squire before this, and now 
I know their meaning. I was foolish in not believ- 
ing when told that he frequently called at the Baxter 
villa and took Miss Sally driving, so if I possess the 
senses of feeling and sight, the story must be true. 

“Is there any use for me to persevere in my am- 
bitions against such odds? I fear I have aimed too 
high. What chance is there left for a poor boy like 
me against the master of the great Bates estate, 
under whom I am a mere insignificant hireling, as 
Miss Baxter well knows. Besides, she saw me hold- 
ing his horse. I believe the Squire did this inten- 
tionally to humiliate me in her presence, but then, 
he didn’t know that we were acquainted, so I will 
not accuse him of such an act.” 

The rest of that day passed slowly with the young 
superintendent of Bates’ factory, and as he moved 
through the various departments alone, the wheels 
of the machinery in their revolutions seemed to have 
lost their music; the lines of shafting sent forth 
screeches that told they needed oiling or else were 
out of line. There was a disagreeable thump in the 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


157 


great steam engine that had not been noticed before, 
and the quality of fire clay coming from the mines 
that afternoon was not fit to use. It was his custom 
to have a pleasant word for each one in passing, but 
that afternoon proved an exception to his rule, and 
what he had to say were orders given in the shortest 
kind of sentences. 

But at last the dreary afternoon had passed, and 
James quietly wended his way home, absorbed in 
deep thought. About midway between the village 
of Hedden and Bates’ factory Hedden Hall, the 
great Bates mansion, was situated. The lodge-gate 
stood on the main road to the works, and was the 
most picturesque spot for miles along this thorough- 
fare, and although a lover of beautiful scenery, the 
place had no attractions for James, for he had never 
raised his head in passing on his way home from 
work that evening. 

‘T will talk this over with my mother,” said 
James to himself, “for she will know there is some- 
thing that is not going satisfactorily with me, 
and unless I tell her the truth she might have a 
wrong impression of the trouble. She might think 


158 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


I was not capable of holding my position, which 
would give her much worry. Besides, I have taken 
her advice in almost all things I ever did of more 
or less importance, and why not listen to her now, 
in this the most important affair to both her and 
myself. 

“I will not say a word about the matter to my 
father, for he would think it all foolish nonsense for 
me to entertain such ideas, so I will confide in my 
mother alone, whom I know will give the matter 
more consideration, and whatever it may be, I will 
be guided by her advice.’^ 

That evening, as James sat at the supper table 
between his father and mother, he did not lead in 
the conversation as it was his custom to do, for his 
mind was always so filled with the business of the 
factory that this was the leading topic at the table 
every evening; but the keen eye of his mother soon 
noticed that something had gone wrong with her 
boy, for he only answered their questions, and those 
as briefly as possible. But he seemed to relish his 
meal, thus proving to his mother that he was not 
sick, though his face was paler than usual, and 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


IS9 

while the good mother racked her brains for some 
pleasant things to say, she was not able to bring 
a smile to his face. 

All kinds of thoughts ran through the mother’s 
head as she endeavored to form some opinion as to 
the cause of her boy’s silence, and at the same time 
she tried to pick up courage enough to ask him the 
nature of his trouble, while James himself was in a 
deep study as to how he would open the subject on 
which he wanted his mother’s advice. 

After supper James got a book and pretended to 
read in order that his feelings and silence might not 
be noticed, but this did not alter his mother’s opinion 
that something had gone wrong at the factory with 
her dear boy, and she would not be able to sleep if 
she went to bed without knowing what it was. 

So she pretended to sew until the night grew late, 
and the boy’s father had retired to bed, when finally 
the silence was broken by his mother, who said : 

''James, what has happened at the works to-day? 
I know something has gone wrong, and I hope it 
is nothing serious.” 

The ice now being broken, James had to "face 


i6o 


FROM PIT TO PA.LACE 


the music/’ and dropping the book from his hands 
and looking up into his mother’s face, he said : 

“Well, mother, I knew you suspected iny feelings, 
and I was just as anxious to answer your question as 
you were to ask it. You feared that something had 
gone wrong with my work.” 

“Yes, I did,” replied his mother. 

“Well, such is not the case; but I received a shock 
to-day, as young Squire Bates drove to the office 
accompanied by — whom do you think?” 

“I could never guess,” replied the boy’s mother. 

“I will tell you. He was accompanied by Miss 
Sally Baxter.” 

“Well, well, that is indeed news, James; but why 
should it be a shock to you?” was the mother’s 
answer, and before James had time to reply she 
continued: “You know that Miss Baxter is one of 
the most beautiful and accomplished ladies in North- 
umberland, 'and if you consider the matter you 
should not be surprised at the young Squire’s taste. 
Besides, this act of the Squire is simply further 
proof of Miss Baxter’s popularity.” 

“I agree with you, mother, in all that you have 


FROM PIT TO PALACE l6l 

said/’ replied James, “but I felt shocked, never- 
theless, when I saw Miss Sally driving with Mr. 
Bates. 

“You know I have had her in my mind since we 
were children together. You remember how Jack 
Charlton and I used to vie with each other to be 
Miss Sally’s partner at the dancing classes and all 
other places?” 

“I remember those childhood days very well, 
James,” echoed his mother. 

“Well,” said he, “I still think of her as I did 
then, though they have become rich and we are still 
poor, and my greatest ambition was to rise to her 
station in life and win her for myself.” 

“Well, my dear boy,” began James’s mother, “I 
am proud of your ambition, and nothing would give 
me more pleasure than to see you realize your 
grandest hopes. I would be proud, indeed, to have 
Miss Baxter as a daughter-in-law, though she had 
not a shilling to her name. 

“But, my dear boy, I am afraid you have laid 
out a hard task for yourself with such an aim 
in view, especially since young Mr. Bates is 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


162 

taking such an interest in her ; for were it 
any other young man of the village I would 
feel that you might have hopes. Yet how 
do you know whether or not Miss Baxter would 
I consider the young Squire as a life companion? It 
would be wiser for her to select a young man of 
more modest circumstances. Besides, I believe her 
both too proud and too wise to ever connect herself 
wijth a family in which she might be looked down 
upon as their inferior in nobility. 

‘‘Don’t give up so easily. There is always good 
hope where there is time, vigor and ambition. Let 
me help you, James, in every way I can, and should 
you fail in the end after doing our best, we should 
have no reasons to regret, but take a philosophical 
view of the result” 

“Mother,” said James, “your words give me new 
hope and courage, and I will begin again with 
renewed vigor, and should I lose, we will have at 
least the satisfaction of knowing that it was through 
no fault of ours.” 


CHAPTER XV. 


JAMES BEGINS WITH GREATER DETERMINATION. 

The summer vacation being ended once more, 
Squire Bates went back to his studies in London, 
and as he found it necessary to have a knowledge of 
mechanics and engineering,, he gave special atten- 
tion now to these branches by entering the depart- 
ment of technology, taking a special course there, 
at the same time keeping up with his regular studies 
at college. 

Although James Raymond never knew what a; 
vacation from work was, he began the long winter 
nights with special studies in almost everything at 
home, while during the daytime he had plenty of 
practical experience in the various branches which 
he had set out to master. 

The book from which James derived information, 
which proved of more value to him than any other 
work, was that of Natural Philosophy. From this 
book he learned the true principles that underlie 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


164 

almost everything. Besides, what he learned at 
night from the book at home he proved by practice 
at the factory in the daytime, so that without a 
tutor he was practically receiving a technical 
training. 

The boy knew that in the following summer 
young Mr. Bates would come home from college 
with all the grand ideas taught in his class of tech- 
nology, and to be able to talk with him on such 
subjects James would have to study and work hard, 
for the time passes quickly when there is much to 
be done. 

Young Raymond had accidently come across a 
book on Delsarte's Methods of Physical Culture, 
and at once the idea came to his mind that by careful 
study of this he might become as graceful and polite 
in his actions as Robert Maxwell, and to do this he 
gave it a good share of his attention, from which he 
obtained results worth many times the effort it 
cost him. 

After taking up this study it was soon observed 
that he walked more erect than before, with his 
face on a vertical line with his body, so that his 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


165 

head was neither raised higher than it should be 
nor drooped so low that nothing but the ground on 
which he walked could be seen by him; while the 
straightening of his back brought his chest forward, 
allowing it to fully expand, and by the practice of 
long and deep breathing the lungs were straight- 
ened, which improved the general health of his body. 

From this book James learned how to properly 
stoop when it is necessary to lift something from 
the ground — which is to throw back the right foot 
and bend the left knee forward, allowing practically 
all the weight of the body to rest on the left foot. 
By observing others walking, he recognized how 
awkward it was to move with too long or too short 
a step for the length of the limbs, not forgetting 
at the same time that too great a speed, unless when 
necessity required, indicated a nervous and flighty 
nature, while on the other hand there is a walk, 
pleasing to some persons, so slow that it denotes 
a lazy and careless disposition, at the same time 
remembering that the whole foot was made to walk 
on, and as the ankle is a movable joint, nature never 
intended that the foot should fall on the ground 


i66 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


Stiff and flat, but to bend, allowing the heel to first 
take the weight of the body when in motion, at a 
certain position, while the ball of the foot relieves 
the heel by taking the weight as the body moves 
forward. 

James soon learned that a happy medium in the 
movements of the arms while walking was the more 
graceful; besides, his study of leverage in mechan- 
ics made him understand that in walking the arms 
acted as balance weights, which keep the weight of 
the whole body in vertical position to the ground 
on which the feet rest, and to understand these prin- 
ciples, figured out by nature, and properly use them, 
a greater distance can be travelled with the least 
exertion. 

Our young observer of things in general noticed 
that he could not walk with the same ease when he 
carried his hands in his pockets; besides, walking 
in that manner made him change his step, which 
carried the body much less gracefully than walking 
^with the arms loose and in motion. 

He observed that a horse, when absolutely sound, 
rested on its four feet when in a standing position, 


MOM PIT TO PALACE 


167 


while, if it were not sound in any part of the body 
the defect would be indicated by the horse resting 
one of its feet and throwing all its weight on three 
legs, and this made James remember that the same 
principle holds good in a man, and that in standing 
for a short time, as in the case of meeting another 
person, it is not only a breach of etiquette, but a 
mark of weakness or laziness to rest the body on 
one foot, not to mention the ungraceful appearance 
produced. 

In carrying out these splendid principles of Physi- 
cal Culture in all his actions, even at his work, 
James had to endure the displeasure of many who 
knew him, by their thinking he had become proud* 
due to his position, while they did not know his 
true reason for walking and acting different to their 
own clumsy, unhealthy and ungraceful style. 

But along with all of the various studies and 
work constantly in hand, young Raymond fre- 
quently attended lectures, concerts and local enter- 
tainments at the village hall, which broke the monot- 
ony of hard studies without wasting valuable time; 
and on one of these occasions distinguished himself 
by taking part in an entertainment. 


i68 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


The entertainment given at the town hall on this 
particular occasion was for the benefit of a poor 
widow whose husband had died a few weeks before, 
leaving her with four small children, the eldest of 
whom was but nine years. 

Previous to his long sickness the poor woman’: 
husband had worked as a moulder at Bates’ factory, 
and especially on this account James Raymond took 
double interest in the success of the affair. 

He told all the employees of the works that he 
would like to see them at the entertainment, and 
told those who felt that they could not afford to buy 
a ticket he would buy one for them, so that there 
would be no excuse for any of them not to attend; 
besides, he promised that they would be pleased 
with the performance. 

James took full charge of the charitable work, 
getting all the best people, both the ladies and the 
gentlemen, of the village, to assist him. In this 
manner he had no trouble to secure good talent for 
the entertainment, as the programme showed, when 
a number of them were printed by hand and dis- 
tributed through the village and works several days 
previous to the affair. 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 169 

James had arranged this programme himself, and 
in one of the numbers a solo was announced with- 
out the name of the performer or whether it was 
to be a vocal or an instrumental solo, simply the 
the word ‘‘Solo,’" and in noticing this part of the 
programme many of the ladies inquired what that 
was to be and by whom. But to this question 
James managed to make no satisfactory reply, which 
aroused their curiosity, as all the other numbers 
were well known to them. 

The whole village seemed to be on tiptoe for 
the occasion; besides, the number of tickets sold 
many days in advance proved that the large hall 
would be taxed for capacity, and this prediction 
came true, for every seat was filled, and many were 
pleased to obtain even standing-room. 

James was busy behind the scenes that evening 
to see that each number was carefully carried out 
as printed on the programme, for he was already 
noted for conducting anything he undertook to man- 
age in a most perfect manner ; so he spared no pains 
to see that everything went off as intended, and, as 


170 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


he was chief manager, he made the announcements 
himself. 

The young superintendent knew he would be a 
prominent figure at the entertainment that night, 
and therefore he dressed himself in a new Prince 
Albert suit which he had specially made for the 
occasion, and after leaving his mother’s hands 
as he started for the hall that evening he looked 
like a new silk hat just taken from the bandbox. 

In making the announcements of each number on 
the programme James had to face the audience, and 
here he put to good use his knowledge of Physical 
Culture. He required all the graceful movements 
that he had studied, and more too, for among the 
audience and not far from the stage sat the entire 
Baxter family — Mr. and Mrs. Baxter; William 
Baxter, their son, and Miss Sally Baxter, their 
daughter. 

Here was an inspiration for James, and as he 
had the faculty of grasping opportunities, besides 
the courage, to try his best under any circumstances, 
he felt that this was a privilege he might never 
again have, and he would make the best of it. 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


i7.t 

There was good applause as the various numbers 
were rendered; besides, even the announcements 
were applauded. But that part of the programme 
was reached where it said “Solo,” to which there 
was no other name. It was not announced by the 
young manager, but instead James walked out to 
the footlights with his violin under his arm, in a 
modest but masterly, graceful style. 

This took the audience by such surprise that he 
had to stand for some minutes without attempting 
to lift the violin from under his arm, in order to 
allow the sounds from hand-clapping to die away; 
then, with an inspiration known only to the few, the 
mysterious solo began. 

The silence of the audience was now complete so 
that even a pin could be heard drop. Some people 
held their breath for fear of disturbing the quiet of 
the hall, and now the sound of Gounod’s renowned 
Ave Maria began to vibrate from the violin. The 
young violinist imagined he was looking straight 
into the face of the famous author of his solo, and 
this gave him additional inspiration to a true inter- 
pretation of the music, each note coming out clear. 


172 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


with a plaintive sweetness that heaven alone could 
have inspired. 

The deep, mellow notes in tremulo seemed to vie 
with those of higher pitch in touching the hearts 
and souls of the entire audience. So thrilled and 
spellbound were they with this, the most sublime 
sacred music ever written, and interpreted through 
the violin in the hands of one of their own village 
boys, that before the bow had ceased to move in its 
tender and graceful motion over the strings many 
eyes were even moist with tears of sorrow, love 
and joy. 

At the conclusion of young Raymond’s solo the 
applause was so great that the entire building 
vibrated for several minutes, while all other num- 
bers on the programme were forgotten, and a dozen 
of his more graceful bows in recognition of their 
appreciation was given to avoid an encore; but this 
would not answer, and it was only when he raised 
the violin to his chin that quiet was again restored. 

Good judgment is greater than brilliancy, and 
this James possessed, for he had become a good 
judge of human nature, and used this quality in 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


173 


making his selections, so the next solo he rendered 
was that famous English imitation, called “The Fox 
and the Hounds/’ 

In this rendering James actually outdid himself 
with his marvelous fingering in all the positions, 
while the manner in which he handled the bow by 
che tips of his thumb and two first fingers, allowing 
the wrist to bend in those beautiful movements 
known only to artists, was a revelation to all the 
musical talent of the village. 

In this piece the fox hounds could be clearly heard 
yelping so naturally that some of the audience be- 
lieved that the dogs were actually behind the scenes, 
especially after the crack from the lash of the 
whipper-in; and so true to life were the sounds that 
one could easily follow the hunt until the brush 
was taken. 

This was a decided success, for in their enthusi- 
astic applause the audience rose to their feet, and 
with his eye cast in the direction of the Baxter 
family, James saw that they too stood up ; but more 
than this, and more than all the applause, he saw 
Miss Baxter take from her breast a beautiful red 


174 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


rose, which she herself threw to him, and while it 
was yet in the air above the footlights he caught it 
in his right hand, in which he held the bow. And 
now as the young star performer repeated his most 
graceful bows to the audience, he did not forget to 
make a personal bow to Miss Baxter to show his 
appreciation of her kind feelings. 

It was still evident from the hand clapping that 
one more solo would be appreciated, to which James 
responded for the third time. In this he gave 
them ‘The Clocker and Her Chickens,” which was 
rendered in his same masterly style, edifying and 
amusing to all. 



HE CAUGHT IT IN HIS RIGHT HAND, IN WHICH HE HELD THE BOW 




CHAPTER XVI. 


JAMES BECOMES A" TEACHER OF MUSIC. 

The entertainment was a success from every 
point of view, and especially from the standpoint 
that James Raymond took of it, for he felt that he 
was not only instrumental in securing a few pounds 
for the poor widow, but had won for himself the 
applause of the community in general and of Miss 
Sally Baxter in particular. 

Before leaving the hall after the entertainment 
many of the audience waited to shake hands and 
congratulate James upon his success as a manager, 
as well as a musician, and among these were Robert 
Maxwell and his mother, who had not been observed 
in the audience all evening by the young manager, 
and, besides these, one other person had been there 
unobserved by James, one who shed tears of joy 
and happiness as the vibrations from the violin 
thrilled her heart; and well she might, for she was 
ponscious of the fact that the inspired music was 


176 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


produced by her own beloved son. ’Twas his 
mother. 

A few weeks after this successful entertainment 
James Raymond found himself a teacher of music, 
for many young men of Heading, as well as a num- 
ber from the surrounding villages, flocked to him 
to be instructed on the violin without any solicita- 
tion for pupils on his part. James grasped this op- 
portunity for making some extra money, and 
formed several evening classes, which he success- 
fully conducted, until his business interests in other 
directions required his time. 

‘‘So you are acquainted with our young superin- 
tendent, Miss Baxter,” inquired Squire Bates, as he 
drove away from the factory office that afternoon 
previously mentioned, leaving James in a sad and 
puzzled condition. 

“Yes, sir,” replied Miss Baxter, “I have known 
Mr. Raymond since we were children, but I did not 
know that he was superintendent of the factory.” 

“Well,” replied Mr. Bates, “he is at present act- 
ing as assistant to Mr. Hall, but he is fully capable 
of managing the entire business himself, and it is 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


177 


our hopes that James will remain with us and suc- 
ceed Mr. Hall in the near future.” 

father,” continued Mr. Bates, “has watched 
James work his way up from a mere child by his 
own efforts to the most responsible position in the 
works. Besides, he is absolutely trustworthy and 
reliable in all his duties, with such ambition and en- 
thusiasm that defies failure. He is a model young 
man, and we are proud of him.” 

“I am pleased to hear you speak so well of 
James,” responded Miss Sally, “for I am sure he is 
worthy of the compliments you pay him.” 

Young Raymond was the principal topic of con- 
versation between Miss Baxter and Squire Bates as 
they drove home from the factory that afternoon, 
which was observed by Mr. Bates to be of more in- 
terest to Miss Sally than anything else he could 
talk about. He knew at once from the questions 
she asked him that Miss Sally was specifically in- 
terested in the welfare of James, and he soon con- 
cluded that it was a lover’s interest that she had for 
the young superintendent. 

Squire Bates made a vow to himself that day 


178 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


after leaving Miss Baxter at her home, that he 
would do all in his power to assist James in his 
ambition, and he was satisfied from his observations 
that one of these ambitions was to be the successful 
suitor of Miss Baxter, but in this he would not let 
young Raymond know his intentions. 

The hero of our story continued in his duties 
at the factory, where he was constantly making im- 
provements, until he had practically remodeled all 
of the machinery in the works, besides adding ad- 
ditional new devices, which were principally auto- 
matic in their action, for his genius lay in the line of 
self-acting machines. 

His abilities and knowledge in mechanics soon 
became widely known, and his advice was often 
sought to unravel some knotty problems in the way 
of machinery by the owners of neighboring works, 
where he always proved himself capable and sus- 
tained the reputation he had won. 

One of theS important improvements made by 
James at Bates’ factory was to change the method 
of drying the goods made, which was formerly 
done by a large number of coal fires, allowing the 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


179 


heat from same to pass through flues underneath 
the floors on which rested the goods that were to 
be dried. 

James substituted steam pipes for the coal fires, 
getting his supply of steam from the engine boilers, 
thus doing away with scores of separate fires, as well 
as the labor it required to attend to the fires; be- 
sides producing better results, being cleaner and 
having none of the former dust, and drying the 
work in less than one-half the time formerly 
required. 

This change led young Raymond to another im- 
portant invention, which is extensively used even at 
the present time. As his steamheating systems were 
quite extensive, using many hundreds of feet of pipe, 
there were large quantities of condensation, which 
escaped from the heating pipes. Knowing that this 
was practically distilled water, it would be specially 
good as a supply for the steam boilers on account 
of its being absolutely clean. Besides, this water 
was warm as it left the pipes, and to feed it to the 
boilers in its warmer state would result in a large 
saving of fuel as well as adding to the efficiency of 
the boilers. 


i8o 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


To utilize this condensation or water with the 
heat it contained, resulted in the production of an 
automatic device, which delivers the water at any 
temperature into the steam boiler against any steam 
pressure without the use of a pump. 

The young superintendent’s value was appreciated 
by the Bates family, who compensated him hand- 
somely by increasing his wages fully in keeping with 
his service to them. 

This placed himself and the family in good, easy 
circumstances, and he was now looked upon as one 
of the most prominent, industrious and successful 
young men of the community ; and, as it seems to be 
the custom in all countries, the movements of prom- 
inent people are watched closer than others, and 
their intentions misconstrued, which often places 
them in a false light, and now even these conditions 
young Raymond began to experience, one instance 
of which is mentioned as follows : 

Counsellor Bates, having some important law busi- 
ness to attend to in the City of Newcastle, left 
Hedden Hall in a hurry one morning in order to 
catch an early train at Writing Station, which was 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


i8i 


about three miles distant, with a ferry to cross the 
Tyne, which consisted of a small boat rowed by one 
man, and as the law business pertained to something 
connected with the works, the Counsellor had to 
call at the factory office for some papers. At the 
same time Mr. Bates wished some particulars which 
were necessary for him to know, and his time being 
limited, he took James with him in his carriage 
as far as the ferry, in order to talk the matter over 
as they drove in the direction of the depot, and, as 
usual. Counsellor Bates had one of his daughters 
driving with him that morning. 

Arriving at the boat landing which was as far 
as the carriage could take Mr. Bates, he stepped to 
the boat, at the same time asking James to kindly 
accompany his daughter in the carriage back to her 
home at Hedden Hall. This was quite agreeable to 
James, as it would be to any young man, for Miss 
Bates was a pleasant young lady of about sixteen 
summers, and though an heiress of great wealth, her 
manners were plain and natural, making it appear 
that her station in life was on the same level with 
that of her escort. 


i 82 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


Miss Bates handled the reins after her father left 
the carriage, and while the distance back was nearly 
three miles, most of which was a level road, she 
never urged the horses faster than a walk, and ap- 
peared in no great hurry to get back to Hedden 
Hall. 

It was not yet ten o’clock in the morning when 
James and Miss Bates arrived at the lodge-gate, 
the beautiful entrance to the great stone mansion, 
but before the horses had turned from the main 
highway, William Baxter, on his way to the mines, 
drove by, accompanied by Miss Sally, his sister; 
and while pleasant greetings were exchanged by the 
two young couples. Miss Baxter and her brother 
were taken by great surprise to find young Raymond 
driving with the daughter of Counsellor Bates. 

Miss Bates had not been personally acquainted 
with the Baxters, so she inquired of James whom 
they were. This was the start of a little pleasant 
conversation as the horses slowly walked along the 
flower-bordered, winding driveway, under the long 
arch of trees. 

‘The gentlemen,” replied James, ‘fis Mr. William 



MISS JANE BATES 





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FROM PIT TO PALACE 


183 


Baxter, the young superintendent of the mines, and 
the young lady is his sister, Miss Sally.” 

“They are a handsome couple,” said Miss Bates. 

“Yes, indeed,” James quickly answered, “and 
they are every way as good as they look. Mr. 
Baxter is a model young man, with great capabili- 
ties ; and his sister — she is not only beautiful of face 
and form, but she is a lady who possesses the high- 
est degree of refinement.” 

These expressions from the young superintendent 
of the factory surprised Miss Bates, for she never 
thought that James could give utterance to such 
sentiments. She had thought that people who 
worked in the factories and coal mines could have 
no beautiful sentiments or refinement, as she had 
never come in contact with working people, except 
the servants and gardeners at Hedden Hall. 

“I have heard your name mentioned many times 
by my father and brother at home, and I am now 
pleased to have the pleasure of your acquaintance,” 
said Miss Bates, “and I thank you for your com- 
pany this morning, and hope I have not taken up 
too much of your time.” 


184 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


‘‘My time belongs to your father, Miss Bates, 
replied the young man, “and that portion of it spent 
this morning was a most agreeable duty, through 
which I feel highly honored. Good morning.” 


CHAPTER XVII. 


JAMES BEGINS TO DREAM OF CASTLES. 

After thus bidding Counsellor Bates’ daughter 
“good morning,” as he started to walk back to the 
factory from the front entrance to Hedden Hall, new 
thoughts began to crowd themselves into young 
Raymond’s mind, some of which were harder prob- 
lems to solve than anything technical to which he 
had given consideration. 

James realized that it was a pleasure he felt in 
accompanying Miss Bates, for it could hardly be 
looked upon as the act of a servant, yet that was a 
matter for consideration in which there was some 
doubt; yet, on the other hand, he felt sorry that 
he had been seen by the Baxters riding with Miss 
Bates. What would they think of it? What con- 
clusions would they come to in regard to the matter ? 
Would Miss Sally feel jealous? Would she think 
young Raymond had a lover’s interest in Coun- 
sellor Bates’ daughter or would she think that he 


i86 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


was merely a poor servant that could be used for 
any purpose? 

But there was another side to the situation. James 
proved that he was good enough to ride with Miss 
Bates, as Miss Baxter had proved herself good 
enough to drive with young Squire Bates. So, in 
debating the matter pro and con in his mind, James 
could not conclude whether the circumstances were 
in his favor or against him from the consideration 
that might or might not be given to it by Miss 
Baxter. 

The young mechanic walked slowly along the 
winding driveway from the great stone castle as if in 
a dream. He felt that the giant shade trees had eyes 
that glared at him as he pased them by, while some 
had voices which plainly vibrated in his ears, say- 
ing, “What right has a poor boy like you to walk 
through these beautiful grounds, which were made 
for the rich alone? Get along as fast as you can 
or we will fall down and crush your life out.” 

At times James looked back, thinking that some 
of those threats might be carried out, at the same 
time quickening his steps toward the lodge-gate 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


187 


with the most pleasant countenance, in hopes of 
winning favor with the giant oaks that had stood 
faithful guards for so many years. 

Young Raymond felt as he moved through this 
earthly paradise in his semi-conscious state that the 
miriads of flowers pulled back their heads and with- 
held their perfume until he had passed from their 
view, not wishing to waste their fragrance on one 
so poor as he. 

Back again to the factory, James had to take up 
his usual duties, which soon awoke him from the 
trance-like state in which he had been that morning. 

None in the factory but James himself knew how 
he happened to be out driving with Counsellor 
Bates' daughter, and there were others as well as 
Miss Baxter and her brother who saw the young 
superintendent in the Bates' carriage that morning. 

So it was whispered throughout the entire works 
before evening that James was a favorite lover of 
Miss Bates, and the next day it was the principal 
topic in the village. 

James felt embarrassed at these gossips, especially 
when he knew their ideas of the matter were false. 


i88 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


Besides, he realized that any false report circulated 
regarding a person, no matter how it might be con- 
tradicted, there are always a number of people who 
believe the report. 

Notwithstanding this little incident and talk of 
the village, young Mr. Raymond wondered to him- 
self if it could be possible for him to become a mem- 
ber of the great Bates family, with a right to walk 
through the beautiful grounds at Hedden Hall, under 
the shade of the great elms, and pluck the fragrant 
flowers if he saw fit. He could not help thinking 
how grand it would be to live in such a place as 
a member of the family, to dine with them in the 
gorgeous dining-room, with servants at his com- 
mand, and to be driven to church on Sundays in the 
family carriage, through the village where he was 
known from childhood by all. 

In dwelling on these pleasant thoughts, James 
began to think that stranger things had happened, 
and they could happen again; and now, as he was 
credited with such a distinguished honor, although 
not a word of truth in any part of it, he felt that 
he should advance himself accordingly, which meant 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 1S9 

harder work and study than any of his previous 
undertakings, 

James concluded in his mind that to be able to 
live in a castle like Hedden Hall he would have to 
be something greater than a mere superintendent of 
a factory, and as his special tastes ran in the direc- 
tion of inventions, hopes were entertained that 
through this channel greater fame and fortune might 
be possible. 

Therefore, the first thing to consider was, what 
kind of an invention would prove the most wonder- 
ful and attract the greatest attention ; to which con- 
siderable time and thought was given, because he 
well knew the necessity and value of properly con- 
sidering a matter before undertaking the task, so 
that time would not be lost in impractical ideas. 

Young Raymond finally concluded that a per- 
petual motion machine that would not only run 
itself, but would furnish power with which to run 
machinery of all kinds and do away with steam » 
as a motive power, would be the most marvelous 
machine in the world. Besides, he knew several 


190 FROM PIT TO PALACE 

men who had been working for years on the same 
problem, but as yet without success. 

So it seemed at first sight a mere matter of ac- 
complishing this result before any other inventor 
secured patents on such a device; hence time was 
valuable, and work was started on the wonderful 
machine without further delay. 

Many methods of producing this wonderful ma- 
chine were considered, all of which looked prac- 
tical, but the most feasible of them was a double 
inclined plane, and this was actually built and 
tested. 

The apparatus was about five feet high and 
twenty feet long, the centre being the highest point, 
on the top of which was a grooved pulley wheel, 
while a miniature railroad track sloped down from 
both sides of the centre, on which two cars moved, 
being attached to each other by a rope, which moved 
over the pulley on the high centre point. The car 
tracks on each inclined plane had automatic 
switches, one near the top and the other at a point 
•'near the lower end of the plane, and were for the 
purpose of changing the pitch of the plane as the 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 191 

cars moved to certain points. The invention was to 
allow one car to start at the summit of the plane, 
while the other car, attached to it hy the rope, was 
situated on practically level ground at the foot of 
the opposite plane, and as the car started from the 
head of one plane, its weight caused it to open the 
upper automatic switch, which threw this car into 
a more vertical position, for the purpose of getting 
sufficient momentum to pull the other car up its 
inclined plane, which was more gradual in elevation, 
when in turn this latter car was to reach the par- 
ticular spot at the head of its plane, and likewise 
drop through its upper switch, bringing the first 
car to its starting point, and thus keep up the motion 
indefinitely. 

The great secret of this device was the automatic 
switches, which changed the grade of the planes, 
by which the centre of gravity was to be overcome, 
with an abundance of power to spare, which could be 
used for other purposes, from the great momentum 
was a certainty as far as could be seen after the long 
and careful consideration given the problem. 

A more perfect piece of work was never con- 


192 


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structed according to the plans, and great care was 
exercised to have every part pleasing to the eye, 
because there would be hundreds of great men come 
to look at it just as soon as it was made known. 
Even the room in which the apparatus was built had 
not been neglected as to its appearance for the same 
reasons. 

With no possible idea of failure and hopes that 
knew no bounds, the machine was ready for a trial, 
and James, alone in his private workshop, started 
the car from its elevated point at the top of the 
double inclined plane. The automatic switch worked 
to perfection, and down went the car, hampered 
only in its descent by the rope at its tail, to which the 
car on the opposite plane was attached; but this 
seemed little incumbrance as the car left its high 
elevation. The speed slackened after the first quick 
start, though this was to be expected, and grad- 
ually moved slower, until the car on the opposite 
plane was within about one inch of the automatic 
switch, where it was to change by dropping and 
returning to its starting point, at the same time 
bringing the first car to its elevated position, from 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


193 


whence it started; but it came to a dead standstill. 

Although a little disappointed at this first trial 
being a failure, James was by no means discouraged ; - 
in fact, he felt encouraged and elated to think that 
the car came to within an inch of making the turn, 
which simply meant that the cars were not of the 
right weight, or there was a little more friction 
in the pulley wheel than should be. Besides, the 
thing being new, is expected to be rough, and must 
be used a while before it can move smoothly. 

All of this work was done at night, for the reason 
that the young inventor had his duties to attend 
to at the factory in the daytime, which he never 
neglected under any circumstances. But he always 
thought cut in the daytime just what was necessary 
to make the machine work, and endeavored to carry 
out these ideas as soon as supper was over in the 
evening. 

Many changes were made in the apparatus, but 
to make a long story short, James never succeeded 
in making one car pull the other to the top of the- 
plane, and this plan of producing the most wonder- 
ful machine in the world was abandoned, but before 


194 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


giving up the problem on these lines, there was 
nothing in leverage of any kind that James did not 
understand. 

Mr. Raymond, in a way, had considerable ex- 
perience before this time in steam and hydraulics, 
as the reader knows, and he felt that he had made 
a mistake in not starting his machine on some 
hydraulic system, for the reason that water costs 
nothing, and there was plenty of it everywhere. 
Besides, it was the most wonderful substance in the 
world, and had great powers, if we could only find 
out how to make use of them; but it was not too 
.late yet, so he concluded to build a perpetual motion 
machine by using some of the unknown principles 
of water. 

Considerable time was now given to the consid- 
eration of hydraulics, and many ingenious devices 
were drawn out on paper, for James was now a 
very good draughtsman, and each system seemed 
absolutely practical. 

.. But the point was to select that which would give 
the greatest power, while the cheapness of first cost 
of such a machine was also taken into consideration. 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


195 


So a system was decided upon in which both com- 
pressed air and water was to be used, from which 
power could be generated. There was but one 
serious objection to this selection from among the 
number of inventions so cleverly drawn on paper, 
but James was satisfied that he could overcome that 
after the machine was built, for then he could have 
the actual thing to deal with. This serious objec- 
tion was in being able to overcome the difficulty of 
bringing the machine to a stop after it had once 
started, on account of its immense power, which 
increased at every revolution of the wheels. 

The young superintendent now spent weeks and 
months working out his hydropneumatic perpetual 
motion power generator, burning the midnight oil, 
during which time he had no thoughts for anything 
else except one, and that puzzled him more than the 
machine he was building. This one particular 
thought set him wondering what he would do with 
all the money he would receive just as soon as his 
machine was finished. Besides, the perpetual income 
would be so large that it would require a large 
\:lerical force to attend to the collection of the same, 


196 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


not to mention what disposition would be made of 
it after it was received; and being a young man 
of good foresight, it was well to give such an im- 
portant matter some consideration in advance. So 
^ great things were contemplated, prompted by the 
good-natured and unselfish principles for which 
James Raymond was always noted. Many castles 
were built in the air, and one, that far eclipsed 
Hedden Hall, was actually sketched on paper; so, 
for a time, James in his thoughts enjoyed every 
precious moment, with an indelible impression of 
the sweetest girl in the world reigning supreme in 
the Raymond Castle, where her matchless beauty 
and sweet disposition made heaven a secondary con- 
sideration; but dreams do not last forever, and 
James had to awaken to the fact that such thoughts 
would not build the machine, although it is well 
to have an object that will give an enthusiasm to 
any honest undertaking. 


CHAPTER XVIIL 


DESCRIPTION OF THE HYDROPNEUMATIC PERPETUAL 
POWER GENERATOR. 

This marvelous and ingenious machine consisted 
of an endless belt, which moved in a vertical cylinder, 
passing over a pulley wheel at the upper end of the 
cylinder with a corresponding wheel at the bottom. 
The cylinder was to be about twenty feet high, 
with a diameter of about three feet, and filled with 
water to within a few inches of the top. The belt 
v/as provided with air-tight collapsible compart- 
ments a few inches apart along the entire length 
of the belt, the compartments connecting with each 
other by a flexible rubber tube, which also moved 
with the belt. The air compartments were pro- 
vided with a set of most ingenious valves, which 
were to operate automatically as the belt moved up 
and down the cylinder. The intention in this hydro- 
pneumatic power generator was to have all the 
flexible air compartments on one side of the belt 


198 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


inflated with air, so that the buoyancy power of 
these in water, as the cylinder was to be filled with 
water, would lift that side of the belt, causing it 
to rise, while the flexible air compartments on the 
opposite side of the belt were collapsed, so that they 
made no resistance to the motion; but, on the other 
hand, their dead weight favored the downward mo- 
tion of that side of the belt. 

Considerable thought was displayed, introducing 
a most unique device, which was located at the side 
of the lower wheel, for the purpose of opening the 
check-valves of the air compartments as they came 
down the belt in a collapsed state, and this had to 
operate in conjunction with a similar device located 
at the upper pulley for the purpose of opening the 
inflated compartments as they left the water for 
their downward motion, so that the air leaving the 
upper compartment would pass around the flexible 
tube and find its way into the corresponding com- 
partment at bottom, which had just finished its 
downward trip, and was again ready to rise with its 
buoyancy power given to it by the air discharged 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


199 


from the upper compartment, thus continuing in the 
motion indefinitely. 

There was no waste of air, for the reason that 
the same air remained in the hermetically sealed 
flexible compartments and tube for ever, while the 
same water would answer to keep the cylinder full 
there being no loss, except a little from evaporation, 
as the machine was open to the atmosphere at the 
top, but this loss of water was practically nothing. 

While the young inventor was perfecting his 
plans for the great hydropneumatic machine, with 
the great pleasure that the thoughts of success gave 
him, there existed at the same time a little thought 
in his mind that he might be mistaken in his calcu- 
lations, and before going too deep into expense for 
the building of an actual machine to prove or dis- 
prove its practicability, James concluded to consult 
with all the most learned men in his acquaintance, 
and consider their opinions of the system. 

So at least a dozen men of various occupations, 
men of education, some of them college graduates, 
some holding positions as master mechanics in ma- 
chine and other institutions, any one of whom, ac- 


200 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


cording to his position, should be able to tell at 
a glance whether or not this device would be prac- 
tical, approved of the plan as practical, with one 
exception. 

Among the learned gentlemen to whom James 
went for advice was an artist by name of Starkey, 
who is now well known in history as a famous 
painter and sculptor, who gave deeper thought to 
the problem than the others, and while he could not 
show the young inventor why his machine would 
not operate as expected, he did not agree that it 
would be an absolute certainty. 

Mr. Starkey^s studio was a place young Raymond 
frequently visited, where he watched the artist put 
life into the stone by his chisel and nature in all her 
resplendent colors on the canvas with the same hand. 
Besides, James enjoyed Mr. Starkey’s talks on 
philosophy, astronomy and the wonders of nature 
in general, which gave the young man a high re- 
gard for the artist’s opinion on anything. 

At this point James Raymond began his actual 
work on correct principles. He concluded that 
everything could be accurately figured out on papef 


FROM PIl lO PALACE 


201 


that was based on true principles, and anything not 
based on natural laws could never work, and any 
time spent on such was a loss of time. The mar- 
velous hydropneumatic power generator was never 
finished, but it was the cause of bringing James into 
deeper problems than he had ever touched on be- 
fore, through which he clearly demonstrated with- 
out assistance that perpetual motion was a fallacy 
in any direction or by any means. At the same 
time, he now knew that had he received a proper 
schooling, passing through the higher branches, he 
would not have to grapple in the dark or waste time 
on groundless principles. This was an achievement 
that few men, under similar circumstances, had ever 
accomplished. And now, while the young lover saw 
the castles fade away from his mind, he felt elated 
at the knowledge he had gained in discovering the 
true principles of some of nature’s laws, which were 
put to good use afterwards in many ways. 

After young Raymond had settled beyond any 
doubt the impracticability of perpetual motion, and 
had abandoned such thoughts forever from his mind, 
but before he had made his deductions known to his 


202 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


friends, he saw at a distance his friend, the artist, 
Starkey, on the street coming in the same direction, 
and for the first time concluded to tell Mr. Starkey 
of his failure to produce the machine ; but the artist 
had continued his thought for several days on the 
practicability of the machine, and had also arrived 
at a conclusion that it was impractical, and he de- 
sired to inform the young inventor of this. 

In this meeting James did a little mind reading, 
for he watched the face of the artist at half a block 
away, in which he could see that Mr. Starkey had 
discovered the fallacy of the machine. He also knew 
what the artist was going to say as soon as he came 
near enough, but before there was time for this 
James had the first word, and said : 

‘T know it. I have discovered, Mr. Starkey, as 
you have, that the plan is not practical.’' 

'‘You are right, James,” replied the man of the 
chisel and brush. “I have taken the time to go prop- 
erly into the problem, which, I must confess, puzzled 
me at first sight, and was the most plausible thing 
of the kind I have ever seen, yet with absolutely 
nothing practical to it, as I have demonstrated.” 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


203 


The young superintendent of the Bates factory 
now realized the fact that he must thoroughly under- 
stand any subject undertaken before success can be 
hoped for, and from this on he delved deeper than 
ever into the study of philosophy, chemistry and 
various branches of engineering. A few weeks be- 
fore James abandoned his perpetual motion machine, 
Mr. Hall, the general superintendent at the works 
where Mr. Raymond was employed, had a paralytic 
stroke, disabling him for his duties, through which 
greater responsibilities with more work devolved on 
James. This was greatly against his wishes at the 
time, however, because he felt that the wonderful 
machine he had under way was of more importance 
to him than the entire factory, and it was with much 
reluctance that the young inventor accepted the 
position of general manager to succeed Mr. Hall at 
the works. 

Young Squire Bates had by this time finished his 
technical course at college, and now, when at home 
on his vacations, had James alone to consult with at 
the factory, where the two young men had many 
debates on technical matters, and which proved that 


204 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


the young, self-educated man was not only able to 
answer any questions put to him by the college 
student, but gave to Mr. Bates a better understand- 
ing of the things that he had been taught at college, 
besides much more information in the same lines 
than he could ever get in such an institution. 

The good, practical and technical knowledge dis- 
played by Mr. Raymond greatly pleased Squire 
Bates, making him feel that the care of the factory 
was in good hands from every point of view, and 
could be conducted successfully without any atten- 
tion from himself or his father. 

Squire Bates was soon to be admitted to the bar 
as a practicing attorney, having graduated with 
high honors from a London law school, with the in- 
tention of continuing his father’s law practice, who 
had a large clientage in London, besides a large 
estate there, which required their personal attention. 

On a tour of inspection through the works one 
day young Squire Bates suddenly turned around and 
said: “By the way, James, my sister Jane, with 
whom you were driving one day during my absence, 
wishes you to call with me soon, for she has been 


FROM PIT TO PALACE* 


205 


informed that you are a musician, and would like 10 
hear you play the violin. My sister, continued 
Mr. Bates, “is also a musician of much ability, 
having inherited that talent, so it is a part of her 
nature. Besides, she has studied under some great 
masters, who recognized that she had gifts seldom 
found among pupils, through which the piano 
brings forth vibrations that cannot be produced by 
any system of technique.’" 

“I shall be delighted to comply with your sister’s 
wishes in this, but I fear,” said James, “that my 
mechanical playing of the violin will be a disap- 
pointment to one so eminent as she; but I will go 
with the hopes of hearing her play, which I am sure 
will be delightful to me.” 

Robert Maxwell had not been idle during these 
times, for he was now a full-fledged minister of 
the gospel, and frequently occupied the pulpit at 
Hedden Church, where he had every opportunity 
to display his talents, as well as his good looks, in 
the presence of the entire congregation, with an 
unobstructed view of Miss Baxter’s face. Besides, 
it was well known through Hedden that Mr. Max- 


2o6 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


well had calls from several prominent congregations 
of the surrounding villages, which he held under 
consideration, and, under the circumstances, it was 
quite natural to conclude that many of the eligible 
young ladies of the parish had Mr. Maxwell in their 
minds, so it could be easily seen that Robert was 
now more popular than ever among the fair sex of 
the village; but Robert Maxwell’s mother was a 
business woman, and she had not neglected her part 
in the plan outlined many months before this by her- 
self and son, for she acted with such diplomacy that 
long ere this she had become quite intimate with 
the entire Baxter family. So friendly did they be- 
come that they not only exchanged calls, but fre- 
quently dined at each other’s homes, and this gave 
Mrs. Maxwell some good opportunities, of which she 
took advantage, to let the Baxters know of her good 
circumstances, and although in other ways most 
affable, Mrs. Maxwell never displayed much sym- 
pathy for people of moderate circumstances. Mrs. 
Maxwell was what is usually called a highly edu- 
cated lady in the liberal meaning of the word; or, 
in other words, what is now known as a society 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


007 

woman, with her mind well cultivated in the things 
of the world, and although she was instrumental in 
making her only son a minister of the gospel, she 
did not possess the finest of all qualities, the culti- 
vation of the heart. In this beautiful quality she 
differed from Mrs. Baxter, who was an ideal lady 
and mother, in whose atmosphere a person of any 
circumstances could feel the benefit of her kind 
nature. 

In the course of conversation between these two 
ladies on one occasion, Mrs. Baxter brought up the 
question of what the ladies of the village might do 
for those less fortunate in circumstances, to which 
Mrs. Maxwell coolly replied: 

‘‘Such things are so bothersome and uninterest- 
ing. Besides, we owe these people nothing.’’ 

This expression surprised Mrs. Baxter, who had 
misjudged Mrs. Maxwell, but now considered that 
her intimate friend was a person with a cold heart, 
which she very much regretted to know, as she did 
not care to associate with persons of such a nature. 

“Did you not find the charity concert given at the 
town hall some time ago interesting? Was it not a 


2o8 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


refined and splendid affair?” said Mrs. Baxter. 
‘‘Not to speak of the financial .success, which 
brought pleasure and happiness to a deserving 
widow and her children.” 

“Oh, well,” replied Mrs. Maxwell, “it was as 
good as could be expected from such local talent. 
The singing was fairly good, but the scraping and 
scratching of the violin by that young factory man 
set my nerves all on end, and I could barely wait 
till he had finished. Besides, I do not care to get 
into such a mixed crowd as there was at the hall 
that night. 

“I must confess I would not have attended that 
affair had it not been for Robert, who insisted on 
my going with him. You know he is quite a favor- 
ite among the fair young misses of Hedden, most 
of whom attended the concert that night. 

“I sometimes regret,” continued Mrs. Maxwell, 
“that Robert has entered the ministry, because it 
will bring him more or less in contact with the lower 
class of people, but I do hope he will select a parish 
where there are few or no factory people.” 

After this little recital there was no doubt in Mrs. 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


209 


Baxter’s mind as to the real nature of her friend, 
Mrs. Maxwell. 

“Well,” said Mrs. Baxter, “I fear you are not a 
lover of music, for without the violin solos played 
by Mr. Raymond the concert would not have been 
much that night. His playing was a revelation that 
even the great masters might envy. Besides, when 
we know how this young man is accomplished in so 
many ways by his own efforts from childhood, and 
working his way to one of the highest and most 
honorable positions in our community, it is a grati- 
fication to us all. 

“This young man, now superintendent of the 
great Bates factories, which are the principal sup- 
port of our village, has a most noble character, as 
well as natural talents that are rare in any age, and 
a more graceful and refined young man I never saw. 
He is an example to the rest of our village boys, and 
I trust my own son will imitate his noble ways.” 


CHAPTER XIX 


THE EXCURSION TO SUNDERLAND. 

These remarks and comments were anything but 
pleasing to Mrs. Maxwell, and she showed it by 
endeavoring to change the subject, and although a 
shrewd woman, her selfish nature overbalanced her 
knowledge or diplomacy, so that the plans she had 
laid with such success up to this time began to totter 
and look like disaster. Addressing a few words to 
herself after the conversation between the two ladies 
had ended, Mrs. Maxwell said : “I know that I have 
made mistakes in frankly expressing my opinions 
to Mrs. Baxter, which are sure to injure Robert’s 
cause. I am sorry Mrs. Baxter brought up such 
questions, for I cannot conceal my true feelings 
under all conditions, even when I try my best. I 
believe now it would have been better for Robert 
to have acted for himself alone in this matter. How- 
ever, I will be more careful in the future, and try 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


2II 


to curb my tongue, for I know there are many things 
better never said.’’ 

The great annual event of the village for this 
year was to be an excursion to Sunderland, it being 
in the autumn season, when all nature is dressed 
in golden hue, a time when the rainbow has com- 
petition in deflecting the beauties of color to the 
sense of sight; the season when the rusty-coat apple 
has become mellow and sweet, and the hazel nuts 
grown to full size with hardened shells ; a time when 
all plant life has given up with pleasure all its best 
fruits for the happiness of mankind and the dumb 
animals fattened and otherwise provided for against 
the cold of the coming winter. 

With seeings and feelings of this kind, nearly 
every man, woman and child in the village of 
Hedden-on- the- Wall could be seen coming down 
‘from the hilltops long before the sun had risen from 
its eastern bed one beautiful morning, all dressed 
in their gayest holiday clothes, and making their 
way to a long train of cars that stood at the foot 
of the great hill, in which they were to embark for 
a trip to the seacoast at Sunderland. 


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FROM PIT TO PALACE 


It was an idle day at the factory, and also at the 
mines, for all hands joined in the excursion with 
light hearts, most of whom were to see for the 
first time in their lives the great Atlantic Ocean. 
So the lads and lassies of the village were sure of 
having a most enjoyable time. 

The railroad cars were to carry the people from 
the foot of Hedden Hill to Lementon, a distance 
of about eight miles, where a steamboat was char- 
tered to convey them to Sunderland, thus making the 
sail by water down the entire navigable part of the 
River Tyne. 

There was plenty of excitement along the entire 
route, for this is a busy river, being the principal 
means of transportation for the hundreds of fac- 
tories that dot its banks. Besides, it is down this 
stream that the coal from Newcastle finds its way 
to all parts of the world, while the famous Arm- 
strong gun factory, whose giant cannon are known 
in every country, keep many keel boats and steamers 
constantly in motion. 

This was no exception to the average excursion 
as to room, for the cars were crowded, and just so 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


213 


many cars were available, while no matter how 
many men, women and children came, they had to 
find room, and they did, but it brought the entire 
community closer together than they had ever been 
before; and thus packed, the cars moved off in the 
sweet, cool morning air, just as the big red sun 
began to rise. A good orchestra accompanied the 
party that day, which added to the merrymaking, 
and although the steamer was crowded, all kinds 
of dancing were indulged in, and refreshments were 
served in picnic style, as if the affair was that of one 
large family. 

On this occasion James Raymond was busy, as 
usual, for he had been selected to manage the ex- 
cursion. He had to look after all the tickets and 
settle with the railroad and steamboat companies, 
besides many other duties left to him to perform, 
and thus occupied, there was little time for him to 
enter into the sports of the day. 

Such confidence had the entire party in James 
that his word was law, and would never be ques- 
tioned. He was a picturesque figure that day among 
the excursionists, being a handsome young man, 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


il4 

with dark, curly hair, and dressed with taste. He 
carried a neat alligator bag at his side, which hung 
from his shoulder by a long leather strap. This 
was the treasury bag, which contained the money 
for all expenses, and this added to his attractive 
appearance. 

The excursion boat was a two-wheeled side-paddle 
type, and so crowded was it on this occasion that 
many persons occupied places on the roofs of the 
paddlewheels, where their positions became danger- 
ous as soon as the boat crossed the bar into deep 
waters. For now she began to rock, giving new 
sensations to almost all on board, for very few of 
them had ever before been on anything larger than 
a rowboat, and never in rough water. James took 
little notice of the boat’s heaving, because he was 
occupied in the engine-room examining the ma- 
chinery and watching the great walking beams 
rising and bowing while they turned the mighty 
shaft to which the paddle-wheels were attached. 
Although Miss Baxter was accompanied on this 
occasion by her brother, who scarcely ever left her 
side, James endeavored to keep his eyes on her, and 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


215 


not only for the purpose of protecting her in case of 
an accident, but to watch the attention given her 
by the other young men of the company. 

The young superintendent was almost jealous of 
Miss Baxter’s brother, but when he noticed, as he 
did on several occasions, the Rev. Mr. Maxwell in 
the company of the Baxters, he had hard work to 
restrain his feeling of jealousy from becoming 
noticeable. But nevertheless, through great effort, 
he looked pleasant, and acted in a most courteous 
manner when he happened to meet them in passing 
from place to place on the boat. 

The party was honored by the presence of the 
Rev. Mr. Maxwell, who was there to look after 
the spiritual welfare of the villagers, especially those 
who were members of his own congregation, for 
there were members of other denominations with 
the excursion, it not being a church affair. But Mr. 
Maxwell was known and respected by all, and well 
he might be, for he was a young gentleman of most 
polite and pleasing manners. Besides, he had the 
distinction of his office, which was also respected 
by all. 


2i6 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


Mr. Raymond always kept his brain at work, for 
he had become imbued with the idea that a personas 
mental faculties, if properly worked, could do 
greater things than the physical faculties, but when 
these two faculties were worked in harmony, the 
very best in any person can be brought out ; and 
while the business affairs of the excursion seemed 
to occupy young Raymond’s entire attention, the 
leading thoughts in his mind that day were how he 
could let Miss Baxter know how much he loved her, 
and that he cared for no other girl on earth. 

James noticed that the Rev. Mr. Maxwell did not 
dance, and concluded it would not be becoming to 
his station to enter into that kind of amusement, 
which alone prevented him from doing so, because 
previous to his ordination Mr. Maxwell was a great 
favorite at the balls and parties of the village. 

Mr. Raymond prepared a little plan in his mind, 
after careful thought, and then put it into practice. 
' He went to the leader of the orchestra, to whom 
he unraveled his plan. The leader, after a certain 
time, was to announce the next dance to be the 
new lancers, which had been only recently intro- 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


217 


duced, at the same time knowing very well that 
scarcely four couples on the boat knew how to dance 
it. James, however, was one of the first in the 
village to learn the new lancers, and he knew just 
how many persons on the boat understood the fig- 
ures. He himself secured three couples, as he passed 
around the boat, who were pleased to have the op- 
portunity of showing that they were acquainted with 
the very latest dance. This James whispered to the 
leader of the band, who understood the rest, and at 
a signal from James, called order and announced 
the next dance to be the new lancers. At this an- 
nouncement the three couples already selected by 
the superintendent stepped forward and took their 
places. There was one couple needed to fill the set, 
and all began to look around, as if curious to know 
who the next couple might be, and just now the 
leader called out to Mr. Raymond that he needed one 
more couple for the new lancers. 

‘^Very well,’’ said James promptly, “I will try 
to fill it.’^ 

This was his chance, and the critical moment was 
now at hand. He knew that Miss Baxter and her 


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FROM PIT TO PALACE 


company were seated within hearing distance of 
the leader, and he knew that Miss Sally understood 
the new lancers; so casting his eyes around as if 
endeavoring to see some young lady that could act 
as his partner, he brought them in line with the 
Baxter group, where Miss Sally was seated between 
her brother and the Rev. Mr. Maxwell. Their 
glances met those of the quick, sharp, blue eyes of 
the young superintendent as he advanced toward 
them, and, with his most graceful bow, he asked 
Miss Baxter to complete the set. 

This was a master stroke for James, for he knew 
that Miss Baxter was too much of a lady to refuse 
under the circumstances, even though she did not 
care to dance, but to his great delight Miss Baxter 
not only accepted the invitation to dance, but ex- 
pressed her thanks to James for the opportunity. 

The lancers being something new, all the young 
ladies and gentlemen on the boat wanted to see it, 
and on this account, as wide a space as possible was 
made for the dance, although there was but one 
set of four couples. These were happy moments 
for young Raymond, for he felt that Miss Baxter 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


219 


enjoyed his company. Besides, he had in his mind 
that he was gaining some points on Robert Maxwell, 
which added to his pleasure. The lancers were 
started, which proved a treat to all who were fortu- 
nate enough to be in a position to see it. So en- 
trancing were the movements by the four handsome 
couples that the floor was envied beneath their feet, 
and it was voted the most enjoyable feature of the 
day's outing. 

There was but one little mishap on the voyage to 
Sunderland that in any way disturbed the pleasure 
of the party, and this incident crowned young 
Raymond the hero of the day. 

James had made his way down into the fire-room 
below the great engines to look at the steam boilers 
and talk to the firemen at times when they were not 
shoveling coal into the roaring furnaces, and while 
there, looking up at the great connecting rods that 
moved the walking beams above deck, he saw a small 
boy with his head bent over looking down the 
shaft from above. James saw danger in this, and 
could not take his eyes from the boy, who, either 
from the heaving of the boat or becoming dizzy by 


220 


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looking at the machinery in motion, lost his balance 
and went head first down the shaft. 

Several people on deck saw the boy fall, as did 
the boy’s mother, who became frantic and had to 
be held. No one ever expected to see the boy brought 
up alive, thinking he would be ground to death by 
the ponderous machinery. Besides, the distance he 
had to fall would mean sure death. The shrieks of 
the poor mother and the general commotion ex- 
cited all on board, for many did not know what had 
happened or what was about to happen, for just now 
the engines were suddenly stopped, after some sharp 
and harsh sounds from a great bell signalled by the 
captain, and this added greatly to the general ex- 
citement. 

The boy’s escape from death was miraculous, and 
still more wonderful was the fact that not even a 
bone was broken in any part of his body, for just 
a moment before he had lost his balance James 
called the attention of two of the firemen to the 
boy’s position, who, with James, were looking up 
the shaft as the boy toppled over, and quickly form- 
ing their arms into a net, caught the lad after his 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


221 


body had mysteriously slipped by the moving ma- 
chinery without injury. 

The whole incident took but a few moments, and 
in less than two minutes James was on deck with 
the uninjured boy in his arms, where the boy’s 
mother embraced them both, while the entire party 
cheered with joy, declaring young Raymond to be 
the hero of the day. 

The weather was ideal, and everything appeared 
at its best advantage. At Sunderland the party sep- 
arated, going in all directions to take in the various 
sights of the city; but before leaving the boat Mr. 
Raymond announced that everyone must be at the 
boat landing not later than four o’clock, as the boat 
was to leave at twenty minutes past four for the re- 
turn trip, and anyone late for the steamer would 
have to make their way home the best they could. 

Mr. William Baxter, before leaving the boat, told 
James that they would not have much time to spend 
in the city, and on this account thought it best to 
take in only the most important places, and asked 
Mr. Raymond’s opinion as to these. 

“Well,” replied James, “I will tell you what I 


222 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


think is best to do. Let us have a little party of 
our own. Take one of your young lady friends, 
and let me escort your sister, and we will spend what 
time we have in the famous park of Sunderland.” 

This idea struck Mr. Baxter as the right thing, 
and he replied : ‘^All right James, I will do it,” and 
quickly finding the young lady to go with him, and 
informing her and his sister. Miss Sally, that Mr. 
Raymond had kindly consented to show them 
through the park, the two couples escaped from 
the rest of the party, and soon found their way 
through the beautiful park, where by themselves 
they passed the happy hours away. 

The park of Sunderland is one of the most famous 
beauty spots in all England. Part of it is prac- 
tically a great fort, rising, as it does, several hundred 
feet above the sea, while its base is washed with the 
restless waves and its top capped with giant cannon, 
whose long necks protrude over the brink of the 
steep sides, defying the world against invasion. 

Here, too, are found numerous works of art in 
the way of statuary and monuments of the great 
events and famous men of England, standing amid^ 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


223 


the beds of roses or entwined with living wreaths 
of myrtle and ivy, while the monograms and beauti- 
fully figured flower-beds throughout the extensive 
place were none the less works of art to behold, 
making dreamland a reality, as, indeed, it was to 
James Raymond that day. 

This was a happy day for the young superinten- 
dent, accompanied by beautiful Miss Baxter, and a 
prouder man than he never lived, and he laughed at 
the art that had been chiseled by the hand of some 
famous sculptor, as they viewed statue after statue, 
when he brought in contrast the work of nature by 
his side. 

The excursion was a delightful success from 
young Raymond’s point of view, although he hardly 
believed that young Minister Maxwell would look 
at the matter in the same light, and after making 
a safe return trip to the foot of Hedden Hill that 
night, James enjoyed the long-looked for pleasure 
of escorting Miss Baxter to her home. 


CHAPTER XX. 


JAMES BRINGS OUT ANOTHER NEW INVENTION. 

Our young hero continued his experiments, but 
on fundamental principles, for he never intended 
to give up his thoughts on inventions as long as 
he lived, and he never did; and after making many 
minor improvements for various purposes, he 
brought out a machine specially intended for the 
purpose of heating railroad passenger cars by heat, 
developed from friction. 

This was considered a great and valuable inven- 
tion, which brought James much renown as an 
inventor of ability, but when James applied for his 
patent on this device, he found that only a few weeks 
previous to his application a professor of the Lon- 
don Institute of Technology had applied for prac- 
tically the same claims. This was a setback to young 
Raymond, for he had spent much time and labor 
on this device, not to mention his great anticipations, 
and thus disappointed, he began to feel that his 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


225 


efforts were in vain, or that his ideas were stolen, 
and nettled with such thoughts, he wrote to a Lon- 
don paper regarding the matter, which resulted in 
the newspaper taking up the question and giving 
young Raymond credit for the invention, as well 
as some flattering comments on his natural talents. 

This opened up a new field of labor for James, 
which he had never dreamed of up to this time. 
Through the keen sight of editors of technical and 
mechanical journals, they noticed that he had not 
only good, original ideas, but he could put them on 
paper and make them of practical value to others. 
James Raymond was invited to write special articles 
for a number of the London and Newcastle trade 
papers on the uses of steam, hydraulics, pneumatics 
and various kindred subjects, which he accepted and 
continued for a number of years, and for which he 
received the largest remuneration of any writer on 
their editorial staffs. In this new undertaking 
James had placed himself in contact with men of 
letters, men whose thoughts mold character in 
others; men whose business requires them to have 
brain power to think and act quickly on all the best 


226 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


and most up-to-date subjects in their field of labor, 
and realizing what he had undertaken, prepared his 
articles with the greatest care. Thus loss of his time 
spent in perfecting his frictional machine, like many 
other instances, proved to be a blessing in disguise, 
as his literary efforts in after years fully attest. All 
Mr. Raymond’s special articles were written at his 
home during the spare time from his regular occu- 
pation. Each article had to be original, and ac- 
companied by two or more drawings, while the 
articles for each journal had to be on entirely 
different subjects, none of which could ever be re- 
peated as an article, and even in this trying situa- 
tion James proved himself equal to the occasion. 
Besides, he won for himself a placq in the front 
rank of the best practical writers on such subjects. 

During young Raymond’s journalistic career an 
incident happened which proved beyond any shadow 
of a doubt his abilities as a writer of substantial 
facts, though many were new and originated by 
himself, for he had the courage to make public 
assertions of things he himself was satisfied were 
true, although seemingly impossible, and often 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


227 


ridiculous to those who had not given as much con- 
sideration to the subject. 

Mr. Raymond had become an authority on hy- 
draulics and hydrostatics, and in one of his special 
articles endeavored to show in a comprehensive 
manner, using several illustrations, how water re- 
ceives its hydrostatic pressure, a thing that had 
never before been shown by any other writer. Be- 
sides, the problem was one less understood by even 
eminent men than most technical questions. This 
naturally aroused the thoughts of men interested 
in such subjects, as well as comments on the same, 
and an unprincipled editor endeavored to take ad- 
vantage of this to gain notoriety for himself by 
disputing the infallibility of Mr. Raymond’s prin- 
ciples of hydrostatics. 

James was advised by a friend that the Journal 
Technic in its next issue would have an article the 
basis of which would be an unfavorable criticism of 
his hydrostatic principles. This aroused James to 
a nervous state, thinking that if such an article was 
published broadcast it would injure his reputation, 
and thereby lose him the prestige he had gained by 


228 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


hard efforts and great perseverance, and the time 
being so short to do anything in the matter, as the 
paper would be issued in two days, action would 
have to be taken at once. 

Without giving the subject a minute’s thought, 
James left the factory office and started for the city 
of Newcastle, James’ step was as quick as his 
thoughts, and little time was lost in walking the 
three miles from the office to the railroad station, 
where he had to take the train for the city; but his 
thoughts were also at work, going over the subject 
of hydrostatics, to see if he had not been mistaken 
in his conclusions, and that possibly the editor was 
right in what he intended to say. Thus worked to 
a high pitch of nervousness and excitement, he could 
not give such an important subject any calm con- 
sideration, and finally concluded to wait until he met 
the editor and then debate the question, and prove 
he was right in order to stop the article before the 
paper was sent to the press. It was three o’clock 
that afternoon when James arrived in Newcastle, 
and a few minutes later found his way to the edi- 
torial rooms of the Journal Technic, where he i:i- 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 229 

quired for the editor. A young man of about 
thirty years appeared and asked James the nature of 
his business. 

‘T desire to see the editor of this journal,’^ said 
James, “regarding an article on hydrostatics, which 
I am informed he intends to publish in the next 
issue.” 

“Well,” said the young man, “the editor is not in 
at present, but I attend to the business here in his 
absence. What do you want to know about the 
article on hydrostatics. I am aware of such an 
article, and it is in ty^-e, set up, and ready for the 
press.” 

“My name is Raymond,” said James, “and I am 
here to prove to you that my article, which you pro- 
pose to contradict, is correct in every particular, or 
I am here to have you show me in what way I am 
mistaken on the subject in question, in order that 
you will not do me an injustice if I prove to you 
that I am right.” 

“Very well,” replied the assistant editor, “show 
me on what you base the assertions you have made 
and given wide publicity in some of our contem- 


230 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


poraries and I will report to the editor as soon as 
he arrives.” 

‘Tn the first place,” said James to the assistant 
editor, ‘‘do you think you are qualified to discuss 
this question from a purely scientific standpoint of 
view ?” 

“I believe I am,” replied the editor. 

“I take you,” said Mr. Raymond, “for a college 
bred man.” 

“Yes,” said the young editor, “I have those hon- 
ors, and naturally had to pass through the various 
branches of physics while there, besides, the practical 
experience I have had in this office as assistant 
editor on a technical journal should qualify me for 
such a subject.” 

James started at the very bottom of the question, 
analyzing the water from the chemical point of view, 
showing the composition of each element, with their 
weights and proportions, all of which were just as 
the editor had been taught at college, 
t Mr. Raymond's explanations of water exerting an 
equal pressure in all directions, as well as the force 
water will exert according to its head or source of 


FROM Pit TO PALACE 


231 

supply, was also clearly agreed to by the young 
editor. 

^‘Now,’' said James, ^Ve have come to the real 
point of the subject under discussion, which is the 
explanation of how one pound of water can be made 
to exert one hundred pounds pressure by simply 
being enclosed in a small tube standing in a vertical 
position. We know, and all schoolboys know, how 
much pressure water will exert per square inch when 
we know the vertical height of the tube or column 
of water, because there are tables which show this; 
but the reason why this result takes place is what I 
have explained and illustrated, and I defy any person 
to prove me wrong in this.^^ 

The assistant editor gave up the question at this 
point and admitted he had never gone so deep into 
hydrostatics before, and was not able to follow 
James any further on the subject intelligently, but 
said he now saw there was much more to the ques- 
tion than he had thought. 

“Since you cannot go further into the subject,’’ 
replied James, “you are not qualified to discuss it, 
and I desire to consult with some other person here 


232 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


who knows more than you do regarding this 
matter.’’ 

This nettled the young editor a little, and he 
quickly replied: ‘There is no other person here 
better qualified than I, and I don’t believe the editor 
could do any better if he was here himself.” 

James inquired what time the chief editor would 
be in, to which the young man replied : “We cannot 
tell ; he might be here in a minute and he might not 
be here to-day.” 

This was uncertain, but James concluded to wait 
as long as he could for the return of the editor. At 
the same time, it was necessary for him to take the 
six o’clock train for home, in order to be at his post 
in the factory early the next morning. 

The editor did not make his appearance during 
Raymond’s stay at the office of the Journal Technic, 
and he was obliged to return home without know- 
ing anything definite as to the printing of the article. 
Young Raymond felt he had done all he could or 
should do in the matter, and contented himself to 
wait the issue of the paper, which would be the next 
morning. He felt that if the article appeared even 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


233 


under these circumstances, he would brand it as a 
worthless sheet that could have no weight in either 
injuring or helping a person, and therefore in place 
of entering into a controversy with them, which was 
their special object, he would treat them with silent 
contempt. 

James was at the factory early next morning,** 
where he anxiously listened for the postman’s horn, 
and soon he could hear it shaking the morning air 
along the hillsides of Hedden-on-the-Wall. 

James felt that the postman’s horn did not have its 
usual musical ring this morning, as if there was an 
affinity between the contents of the postman’s pouch 
and his own feelings as it vibrated the dew-laden air ; 
yet James hoped for the best, and began to think he 
1 might be agreeably surprised to find the article, if 
published at all, to be complimentary to him in place 
of otherwise. 

But the suspense was quickly ended, for here came 
the postman on a full gallop to the factory office 
door, where he practically unloaded his letter pouch, 
the factory mail being much larger that morning 
than ^ver before, and much of it being for James, 


^34 


FROM PIT to PALACE 


personally. A copy of the Journal Technic was in 
the mail, and a marked copy at that. It took but a 
moment to break the wrapper, and James nervously 
began to scan its pages. His hopes fell when he 
turned to the editorial page, for here, in bold type, 
was the article, covering more than a column, just as 
it had been written by the unprincipled editor. 

The article proved to be a sarcastic reflection on 
Mr. Raymond's writings and abilities in general, in- 
geniously worded to arouse the ire of our young 
inventor and writer, and if it were not for some of 
James’ most intimate friends, who prevailed upon 
him to act calmly under the circumstances, the article 
would have had its desired effect. 

In the same mail that morning James received 
several complimentary letters from eminent men re- 
garding the very article so severely criticised by the 
Journal Technic, and similar letters continued to 
come for some weeks. Besides, it became known 
that the professors of some of the leading colleges 
of London and Newcastle took up the question, who 
publicly announced Mr. Raymond’s theories on 
hydrostatics correct. This controversy was brought 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


235 


to the ears of the principal owners of the Journal 
Technic, who felt humiliated, and as a rdbuke for his 
unprofessional actions the chief editor was dis- 
charged. 


CHAPTER XXI. 


JAMES INVITED TO HEDDEN HALL. 

Squire Bates had not visited the factory for 
more than two weeks during these times, as he was 
entertaining friends from London and enjoying the 
series of fox hunts in various parts of the country, 
after which he drove to the factory one day ac- 
companied by his sister, Miss Jane Bates. 

‘^Good morning, James,” said Mr. Bates. ‘‘My 
sister feared I had neglected her message to you, 
and has come to deliver it herself.” 

“Good morning, Mr. Raymond,” came a sweet 
voice from the Squire’s carriage. 

“Good morning. Miss Bates,” replied James. 

“I told my brother some time ago to invite you 
to our house,” said Miss Bates, “that we might have 
the pleasure of hearing you play your violin, and 
thinking he might put the matter off for something 
more interesting to himself, I came this morning 
myself with the invitation.” 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


237 


James was not in a musical mood these days, but 
in this case he had to face the music and promise to 
go that very evening to Hedden Hall. 

Mr. Ra)miond knew that there had been com- 
pany from London at the Bates mansion, and hoped 
they had returned home before this, although he 
did not fear any criticism from the Bates family. 
He did not know what to expect from the young 
gentlemen, college chums of Squire Bates, from the 
elite of London. 

James endeavored to forget the article that had 
been published by the editor of the Technic, but 
found it hard work. He also tried to prepare a little 
programme in his mind as to what he would play 
and how he would act that evening, which was to be 
the first time he was privileged to enter the family 
circle of Counsellor Bates. 

By this time Mr. Raymond was the owner of an 
evening suit, which his good mother always kept in 
the best order. She herself had refined taste, and 
loved to see her son well supplied with immaculate 
linen, and as this was a special occasion, on which 
care should be exercised in such things, there was 


238 


from pit to palace 


nothing forgotten on her part to make James the 
equal in that respect to any rich man’s son. 

Mr. Raymond knew that Squire Bates, during his 
younger days, had taken some lessons on the violin, 
in order to be able to play with his sisters, and there- 
fore was the owner of an excellent old and sweet- 
toned violin, with which he would not part for any 
money, although he had long since given up hopes 
of ever being able to master the instrument, even in 
a slight degree. This thought pleased James, be- 
cause he did not care to be seen carrying his violin 
to the Bates mansion, to which a false idea might 
be given, and the London company,, if any remained, 
might think he had been hired to play for their 
amusement, so James concluded to depend on using 
young Squire Bates’ instrument, and left his own 
violin at home. Mr. Raymond intended to play 
that evening no matter what company might be at 
Hedden Hall, so he took the precaution to carry 
with him a complete set of new violin strings in 
case he should find, as is so often the case, strings 
broken and missing from an unused violin. 

James did not walk to the Bates mansion tb? 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


230 


evening, but instead, hired a coach and drove there in 
as good style as the village afforded, with orders 
to the driver to call for him later in the evening. He 
had not settled in his mind what he would say, how 
he would act or what he would play, but concluded 
to act to the best of his ability, as circumstances 
presented themselves, and keep a cool head, and 
above all not to display his shortcomings. For there 
is no person without some objectionable faults in 
the eyes or ears of others; but even these can be 
covered up with care and tact. 

Mr. Raymond was received at the great front 
door of the Bates mansion by a liveried butler, who 
relieved him of his hat and overcoat, after which he 
was ushered to the entrance of the reception room, 
where the butler announced him. James was met 
and welcomed here by Miss Jane Bates, who intro- 
duced him to her two lovely sisters, who were assist- 
ing her in receiving the guests. James was first 
impressed with the idea that there was to be a grand 
ball or something of the kind at Hedden Hall that 
night, as he heard the number of guests announced 
at the reception ropin door by the bu.tler; but such 


240 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


was not the case, as it was a usual thing with them 
to have many evening callers on other than special 
occasions, and after a little pleasant chat with the 
three lovely Bates sisters, James was ushered into 
the parlor, where Miss Jane introduced him to the 
guests already there. 

This was the first time Mr. Raymond had had the 
pleasure of meeting Mrs. Bates, who impressed him 
as one of the most lovely and refined ladies he had 
ever met, and these, his first impressions of her, were 
never altered during the many years of their ac- 
quaintance. Mrs. Bates was a tall and handsomely 
proportioned lady, with a noble and open counte- 
nance, to which her beautiful snow white hair lent 
dignity. Besides, her charming manners proved her 
noble character, with that sympathetic kindness 
which makes all mankind akin. James being a lover 
of art and grand things of any kind, had here ample 
opportunity to feast his eyes to his heart's content 
on the countless oil paintings, many of which were 
masterpieces of the middle ages. With a draughts- 
man's eye, young Raymond took a quick survey of 
Hedden Hall's interior. 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


241 


Everything was built on a large scale. The rooms 
were spacious and the ceilings high, with massive 
pilasters and heavy cornices indicating liberality and 
substantiallity that should last for ages. The 
spacious dining-room could seat one hundred persons 
at one table, while its floor was of highly polished 
inlaid woods of many colors, in beautiful geometri- 
cal figures. The side walls of this room as well as 
the ceiling were paneled in Flemish oak, and the 
massive furniture, highly carved, was made of the 
same wood, to match. The great bay windows, that 
lit the room in the day, looked out on the beautiful 
lawn, over which an unobstructed view of the River 
Tyne could be had at two miles distance; while the 
great crystal chandeliers, works of art that hung 
from the ceiling, shed floods of light, giving a most 
charming effect in this room at night. 

The spacious parlor was practically a double room 
of about seventy feet long and forty feet wide, 
arched in the center, on each side of which were 
massive pillars, interwoven by grillwork of the most 
beautiful design, while the fluted pillars were 
crowned with Corinthian capitals. At each end of 


242 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


this parlor were massive and highly carved mahog- 
any mantels, fitted with grates, in which coal or 
wood could be burned, and no less than six bay 
windows, proportionate in size and design, pro- 
truded from the side and ends of the room on to the 
lawn. The draperies and hangings of velvet, silk 
and lace were costly, and showed taste in their 
arrangements, while the floor was like a cushion 
under foot, owing to the thick Oriental carpet of 
most exquisite design, supplemented promiscuously 
by many tiger and bear skins. The comfortable arm- 
chairs and rockers, couches and dainty pieces up- 
holstered in soft, rich colors, made a pleasing con- 
trast with the hand-painted walls and ceilings, while 
the concert grand piano occupied a niche on one side, 
where its pearl inlaid front and solid ivory keys 
harmonized with the many other costly works of 
art. 

Mrs. Bates proved herself a most charming enter- 
tainer, as she conversed with each one of her guests 
in the parlor while her daughters were receiving in 
the reception room. But Mrs. Bates had a good 
assistant in her husband, the Counsellor, who was a 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


243 


very learned man of great experience and travel; 
besides, he was of a most jolly nature, and enjoyed 
the company of young people. The city guests had 
not returned to London, as James had hoped for, but 
were stilJ enjoying their visit at Hedden Hall, and 
after becoming acquainted with them, Mr. Raymond 
was delighted at having met such talented gentle- 
. men. One of these visiting young gentlemen was a 
naval officer in the government service, and the son 
of a wealthy man. Another was a young attorney 
of a prominent London family, while the third was 
a professor of languages in one of the London col- 
leges, and all had been schoolmates of the Bates 
children. 

A number of ladies and gentlemen from the village 
of Hedden were also among ffie guests that night. 
Besides, there were other members of the Bates 
family who added to the party, thus making quite 
a respectable number all told. After the usual for- 
malities on such an occasion were over and the con- 
versation began to get a little monotonous, Miss 
Jane Bates was asked to play a selection on the piano, 
to which she immediately responded in her most 


244 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


agreeable and charming manner. She gave a selec- 
tion from the opera '‘II Trovatore’' in a most 
brilliant style, proving her title as the musical artist 
of Hedden Hall, and holding the guests spellbound 
with her marvelous performance. In this the anvil 
chorus thrilled Mr. Raymond to a high pitch of 
enthusiasm, for it brought back to his memory the 
village blacksmith shop, where in his very young 
days he listened with joy to Mr. Gillespie’s hammer 
on the anvil. This part alone made the renowned 
Italian composer, Verdi, a master whose fame will 
live forever in the history of music. It is needless 
to say that Miss Bates’ playing was appreciated by 
the party, but the selection which she rendered being 
long and heavy, they refrained from insisting on an 
encore without some intermission, for although Miss 
Jane was capable of executing most heavy classical 
music, she was a young lady under medium height 
and of slight build. 

And now the time had arrived when our young 
hero would have to show a critical audience his capa- 
bilities as a musician, for he was the only gentleman 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


245 


present who could play, and for this opportunity 
James awaited anxiously. 

Young Squire Bates was proud of his sister’s per- 
formance on the piano that evening, as was plainly 
seen by the pleasant smile on his face while he turned 
the music for her, and in this capacity it could be 
seen he was envied by the other young men of the 
party. 

Mrs. Bates was anxious to hear the sound of her 
son’s old violin, and in her motherly way opened the 
leather case in which it had rested for years. She 
lifted the instrument from its downy bed and handed 
it to James. This meant that he was expected to 
play, but the good lady had not noticed that the 
violin had but one string on it, and when this con- 
dition was brought to her notice she felt greatly 
disappointed, as did others, who felt they had a treat 
in store for them when they saw the old Cremona 
being taken from its place. 

James was prepared for any situation of this kind,’ 
as we already know, and he drew from his pocket a 
set of new strings, to the surprise and great delight 
of all, and these he quickly adjusted to the violin. 


246 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


The delay caused by adjusting the strings had made 
quite an intermission in the musical programme. 
Besides, it had given Miss Jane time to rest, and now, 
while she was seated at the piano giving James the 
key to tune the violin, he insisted on her remaining 
there to accompany him in whatever he might under- 
take to play. In all Mr. Raymond’s efforts at enter- 
taining he endeavored to have some surprise for his 
audience, because he had learned that human nature 
desired novelty, so in this case he made up his mind 
to play something that he was sure no one else 
except himself had heard before, and although Miss 
Bates did not know what James intended to play, she 
agreed to accompany him on the piano, and in this 
she again proved her capabilities as a great accom- 
panist, who could follow any soloist, either vocal or 
instrumental, and transposed to any key the most 
difficult music. James played a long selection that 
made the sweet and mellow tones of the old 
violin, in which he poured out his very soul, like the 
wind in its gentle zephyrs on a calm summer’s day, 
then changing like the raging storm at sea, in a 
brilliant dash that commanded the praise and ad- 


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247 


miration of every guest in the house. During this 
selection some other guests arrived, but James was 
so absorbed in his music that he neither heard nor 
saw them until after he had laid down the violin and 
turned around to be seated by the side of his hostess, 
Mrs. Bates, where, to his surprise, he was greeted 
in a most cordial manner by Mr. William Baxter 
and his sister, also their lady friend, who had been 
listening to practically the entire selection. 

Mr. Raymond was heartily congratulated by all 
for his musical abilities as a violinist, but when he 
had to confess to the authorship of the selections 
just rendered they felt themselves privileged to be in 
his presence. Both Miss Bates and Mr. Raymond 
gave several other selections during the evening, 
after which the guests were all ushered to the great 
dining-room, where lunch was served, with Mrs. 
Bates herself placing her guests in their seats at the 
table. As James went alone to the Bates mansion 
that evening, he wondered as he marched to the 
dining-room how he would be placed with the guests 
at the table, but as to this the good lady of the 
house had not forgotten him, as he was honored with 


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a seat between Miss Bates and Miss Baxter. 

Although young Raymond in his heart loved Miss 
Baxter above all on earth, he felt uneasy even at her 
side when he thought that she was there through the 
invitation of Squire Bates, besides, this being another 
occasion when Miss Sally had found James in the 
company of Miss Bates. 

These thoughts marred the pleasure of the young 
mechanic that evening, but he did not show it in his 
actions, although he had much reason to feel jealous 
by the marked attentions given Miss Baxter by 
young Squire Bates that evening. James did not 
know whether he lied or told the truth when he said 
to Miss Baxter during their conversation that he was 
delighted to find her there as one of the guests, but 
his heart was made light when she replied that it 
was a most agreeable surprise to her as she entered 
the parlor and saw him. 

The young gentlemen from London proved them- 
selves excellent entertainers by the bright wit and 
humor they displayed, which made the evening pass 
altogether too quickly, but as it neared the hour of 
midnight, and the carriages began to arrive for the 


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249 


guests who were to be conveyed home, the young 
superintendent was informed that his carriage was 
waiting for him, and at this young Squire Bates 
asked James if he had not come alone. 

“Yes,’' said James, “I came alone, and I fear I 
will have to return alone.” 

“Well, as you are alone,” said the young Squire, 
“I wish to ask you as a favor to me to escort Miss 
Baxter to her home in your carriage, and I will 
reciprocate at some other time.” 

“With the greatest of pleasure,” replied James. 

Here again was another situation which both 
grieved and delighted young Raymond. This in- 
deed was ample proof to him that Squire Bates had 
more than a friendly interest in Miss Baxter, for 
without doubt he would have driven her home him- 
self were it not for the fact that James was there 
with a carriage alone, that could be used for the 
purpose, and although it would be impossible to 
refuse the so-called favor to Mr. Bates, James had 
a lingering thought in his mind that it placed him 
in the light of a mere servant. Mr. William Baxter 
was informed that it had been arranged for his 


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sister to return in Mr. Raymond’s carriage, to which 
he had no objections, and as the couple left the 
veranda escorted to the carriage door by the Misses 
Bates, James and Miss Baxter looked like a bride 
and groom starting on their wedding trip. 


CHAPTER XXIL 


JAMES MAKES AN EFFORT TO UNFOLD HIS 
THOUGHTS TO MISS BAXTER. 

In the course of conversation, as they wheeled 
along from Hedden Hall to the Baxter villa after 
the very pleasant evening with the Bates family and 
their visitors, James said: “Miss Sally, I am in- 
debted to Squire Bates for this pleasure in escorting 
you home this evening.’^ 

“I must confess,'' replied Miss Baxter, I also am 
under obligations to him for the pleasure which it 
gives me." 

James thought over Miss Baxter's remark and 
did not know exactly how to construe its meaning — 
whether she was pleased to have the opportunity of 
riding home with him from a lover's point of view 
or because she had been so honored by Mr. Bates 
providing her with a special escort to her home. 

Mr. Raymond began to think that Mr. Bates was 
utilizing him too much for his own special ends, and 
concluded that he would not be made a tool of for the 


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purpose of defeating himself in the fight of his life, 
and would put the matter off no longer, but tell 
Miss Sally his intentions and hopes in a straight- 
forward manner. Besides, Mr. Bates was paying 
entirely too much attention to Miss Baxter to be 
other than a serious matter as far as he was con- 
cerned, which would have to be checked now, if 
ever. ‘'And what better opportunity will I ever 
have than this,’’ said James to himself, “to tell Miss 
Sally what I have long wanted to tell her ? But this 
opportunity comes too soon, for I am not in a finan- 
cial condition yet to prove myself capable of prop- 
erly providing for one who has lived in luxury, as 
she has, and how could I expect her to leave a home 
such as she has and live in a little, modest cottage, 
which would be the best I could provide for her at 
present. I would have to tell her the exact con- 
dition of my circumstances, and this would be a poor 
showing indeed, for I am not fairly started as yet 
in life, from a business point of view, which makes 
matters all the more uncertain; and under these 
conditions it would be unfair for me to even ask or 
expect the hand of Miss Baxter. 


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255 


‘‘I will not give her the trouble of refusing my 
request, which I now see her good judgment would 
not guide her in any other direction.” These were 
the thoughts which quickly passed through James’ 
mind as he escorted beautiful Miss Sally to her 
home, while but little was said between them until 
the carriage arrived at the door of the villa, where 
James dismissed his carriage, telling the driver he 
would walk from there to his own home. It was 
a lovers’ night, and as they stood on the veranda of 
the Baxter villa, where Squire Bates had first lost 
his heart, the clock in the village tower began to 
strike the hour of twelve, while James and Miss 
Sally silently counted the strokes as the sounds 
vibrated in their ears, and the stars seemed to 
listen, for they stopped twinkling for a few minutes, 
while they looked down with a greater brilliancy 
than had ever before been noticed by the young 
couple, whose thoughts seemed to be away up above 
the stray clouds that were hurrying along to join 
their loving companions, in whose company they v 
would journey through life. 

'‘Do you notice,” said James to Miss Baxter, "how 


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bright the stars are shining to-night? They appear 
to have come out on dress parade, which looks like 
a farewell greeting to some lover, who is about to 
give up hopes of ever winning the loving affections 
of the most beautiful young lady under the canopy of 
heaven; for there can be no consolation on earth 
for a young man who must bear with such a loss.’’ 

“I do notice,” replied Miss Baxter, ‘ffhat the stars 
are exceptionally brilliant to-night; but that means, 
as you know, a clear atmosphere, with no obstruction 
between them and us. Even the few stray clouds are 
loath to be in our way, as may be indicated by their 
motion.” 

Just now the wheels of a carriage could be heard 
breaking the silence of the night at a distance, to 
which they both listened, while the sound became 
more clear, indicating its approach in the direction 
of the Baxter home, and now the carriage appeared 
to be brought to a standstill in front of the gate 
that sealed the private grounds of the Baxter villa ; 
but the trees being thick, a view of the gate from 
the front door of the Baxter home was impossible, 
though the night was bright 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


255 


must be your brother's carriage,” said Mr. 
Raymond, as Miss Baxter began to feel a little ner- 
vous. ^‘They have stopped to open the gate. I will 
wait until he arrives and then bid you both good 
night at the same time.” 

This practically ended the discourse on astronomy 
between the two lovers, for they expected Mr. 
William Baxter’s carriage to wheel into view every 
minute from the winding driveway under the dark 
arched trees, but after allowing double the time it 
should require for the carriage to reach the house, 
there was still absolute silence ; not a sound could be 
heard. Miss Baxter was a timid young lady, and 
James noticed she was getting frightened at the long 
silence of the carriage, so he advised her to go into 
the house and not wait for her brother’s arrival, to 
which she consented, after wishing him a safe jour- 
ney home, with an affectionate handshake. 

James waited on the veranda until he heard the 
lock of the inner door click and knew Miss Sally 
was safe under her father’s roof. Then he turned 
his attention toward his own modest home, taking 
what he thought his last look around at the beautiful 


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place, for he made up his mind that this would be 
his last visit to the Baxter villa. 

Squire Bates, true to his vow, with the assistance 
of his sisters, whom he let into the secret, had every 
detail of the evening party just described pre- 
arranged for Mr. Raymond's special benefit, and 
which was so successfully carried out, though almost 
at the cost of losing their own hearts, for the Misses 
Bates had more than a friendly feeling for James 
before he left Hedden Hall to return home, while 
the Squire, their brother, regretted having vowed to 
assist young Raymond, when he realized in his 
heart the unexcelled beauty with becoming modesty 
of Miss Baxter. And now, as he had started his 
task, it brought him in closer touch with Miss Sally, 
through which new charms seemed to appear each 
time they met; while his sisters vied with each 
other to drive with him to the factory when he had 
business there, which gave them opportunity to see 
James frequently, though whether it was for the 
purpose of assisting their brother in keeping his vow 
or otherwise was a question. 

James had not the time as he said good night to 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


257 


tell Miss Baxter that this would be the last time he 
would escort her home. Besides, he desired to let 
her know that he wished her greater happiness than 
it would ever be in his power to give her, and 
walked along the carriageway toward the front 
entrance to the grounds, where he expected to meet 
Mr. William Baxter, to whom he would unfold his 
thoughts, that they might be conveyed through him 
to Miss Sally. James was surprised on arriving at 
the front gate to find neither Mr. Baxter nor his 
carriage there. 

One of the maids awaited the arrival of Miss 
Sally that evening, who informed her that her 
brother had been home for the last half hour, 
which relieved her anxiety for him, but still won- 
dered what the strange sounds could be that were 
supposed to be her brother’s carriage, and now the 
fears which Miss Sally entertained for the safety 
of James on his way home were intensified. Miss 
Sally went immediately to her brother’s rooms and 
informed him of her fears for Mr. Raymond’s safe 
journey home, after giving her reasons by describing 
the strange sounds of a carriage, which they sup- 


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posed to have been his, thinking he had not arrived 
home as early as she ; and going to an open window, 
Miss Baxter and her brother listened for more than 
an hour with hopes and fears. 

“It is a lonesome road for James,’' said Miss Sally 
to her brother. “I am sorry now he dismissed his 
carriage and concluded to walk home.” 

“It is fairly bright; besides, James will have no 
fear,” replied William. 

“But,” said Miss Sally, “he has to pass through 
the old graveyard and along the commons, both of 
which are lonesome places even in the daytime.” 

“That may be so, but James is too scientific to 
have any fear of the dead, and though he may cross 
the commons for a short cut, he knows every 
dangerous spot on them, and unless the night grows 
darker, I have no fear for his safe arrival home,” 
said William. 

The Baxter villa was situated some little distance 
from the village of Hedden-on-the-Wall, on the 
southern side, and the little stone cottage in which 
James lived at that time was located on the edge of 
the turnpike road about one mile distant from the 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


259 


Village on the west side. At the back of this cottage 
was a great, rugged hill, covered with heather and 
low brush, under which lay great beds of granite 
and other stone highly valued for building purposes. 
So a system of quarries was established through this 
mountain, some of which were five hundred years 
old. This was called the commons, and with its 
deep caverns, from which stone had been removed 
centuries ago, as well as the hills formed from the 
loose dirt and small refuse stone, covering many 
square miles, a more wild and dangerous place could 
hardly be found. 

To cross this wild commons would save James 
nearly a mile in the distance to his home, though 
the dangerous paths in many places ran on the very 
brink of vertical ledges of rock hundreds of feet 
in height from the surface below, and as it was well 
known that James frequently took this short cut 
from the village to his home day or night. Miss 
Baxter feared he would do so that evening. These 
thoughts made her worry so much that she hardly 
closed her eyes all that night. 


CHAPTER XXIIL 


A THRILLING MIDNIGHT EXPERIENCE. 

Surprised and disappointed at not finding the 
carriage at the front entrance as he emerged from 
under the dark arch of trees, Mr. Raymond con- 
cluded to take the short way home, and in place 
of using the main turnpike road, he made his way 
through a thick hedge that lined one side of the 
road, where he intended to cross an open field, at 
the opposite side of which rose the rugged com- 
mons, for which he had no fear. As James straight- 
ened himself up after crawling through the thick, 
thorny hedge to scan the distant commons over 
the field, in order to make a straight line to the path 
which would bring him nearest to his home, and 
it being between midnight and twilight, things could 
not be seen very clearly even at a short distance, his 
attention was attracted by something moving along 
the field close to the hedge, at about three hundred 
feet distant from where he stood. James quickly 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


261 


saw the thing in motion looked like a man, and in 
order that he might get closer to it without being 
observed, went back into the shadow of the hedge 
and on his hands and knees crawled along the ditch 
of the hedge, the bottom of which was much lower 
than the surface of the open field, and in this posi- 
tion he had no use for his silk hat, which he left 
in the thick hedge, where he expected to find it the 
next day. In this manner James moved carefully 
forward, at the same time keeping his eyes on the 
moving body, and now the thing seemed to stand 
still, which caused James to cease in his movements; 
and now the form, only about 200 feet away, turned 
round and began to move slowly in the direction 
in which Mr. Raymond lay. He saw now for sure 
that it was a man. The man stopped again, and 
now James heard a voice, which sounded as if the 
man was talking to someone else, and at this point 
felt himself in rather a critical place, from which 
he could hardly escape unobserved should the man 
walk to where he lay, so he concluded to pass through 
the hedge again into the main highway, where on 
that side of the hedge he might get closer to the 


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man or men, where he could hear what they were 
saying without being observed. It was no easy 
matter to pass through this thick, thorny hedge for 
the second time within a few minutes, and at differ- 
ent places, without a hat, but it was the only plan 
available. Besides, James’ curiosity being aroused, 
he would dare anything to know the object of these 
strange actions in such a place at that hour of the 
night ; and now being on the roadside of the hedge, 
James carefully moved up the road in a stooping 
position until he came almost opposite the man in 
the field, when he crawled far enough into the hedge 
to enable him to look through into the field with- 
out being observed. There James lay to watch the 
actions of the strange man at the opposite side of 
the hedge, and suddenly he heard the sound of a 
shovel, as if some person was either digging or filling 
a hole in the ground, which seemed to be some little 
distance further up the field. The sound of the 
shovel ceased for a moment or so, and now a noise 
like someone walking in the grass could be heard, 
which seemed like a heavy tread in the ground at 
every step. Soon the shadow of someone coming 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


263 


along the hedge could be seen, and in another in- 
stant a tall, rough-looking man walked by within 
about four feet of the hedge. 

The man appeared to look only straight ahead, 
and was stepping as if measuring the distance over 
which he walked, which could be heard for some 
time after he passed, indicating that the man had 
gone a considerable distance down the field from 
where young Raymond lay, when the sound was 
lost; but scarcely had the sound of the man^s heavy 
step ceased when the shovel could be heard again, 
as it came in contact with some small stones, seem- 
ingly a few feet further up the hill, thus proving 
to James that more than one person was in the 
field behind the hedge conducting some strange work. 
After waiting a few moments for further sounds, 
the big man quietly walked back along the hedge, 
scarcely making enough noise to be heard as he 
passed within two feet of where James was con- 
cealed. 

“How far?” came the sound of a husky voice. 

“Just fifty yards from center of the gate,” was 


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the answer from another voice, though given in a 
whisper. 

‘Well, let’s be off; it’s beginning to get light,” 
said the man with the husky voice, who seemed 
unable to whisper. “Look into the road to see if 
the coast is clear while I bring down the horse,” con- 
tinued the same voice. 

At this moment young Raymond felt that he was 
in danger of being noticed, for the man could not 
look into the road without getting through or pretty 
well into the hedge to do so, and being only a few 
feet from where James lay, there was no possible 
chance to escape to a more safe place, as to move 
a particle would cause the twigs to crack, by which 
his presence would be noticed, so he concluded to 
lie still and take his chances of being discovered. 
These thoughts were hardly framed when two men, 
after walking a few feet down the hill, stopped 
directly in front of where James was in the hedge — 
so much so that they obstructed the view into the 
field. One of these was the tall man that he had 
seen before passing up and down, but the other man 
was short and thin. It was easy to hear what they 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


26s 


had to say now, although they appeared to whisper 
to each other, and while they stopped for about a 
minute in this position, one said: ‘‘We will stay 
together as long as we can, but if we have to separate 
for safety we agree to meet at the ‘Blue Bell Tavern’ 
one month from to-day, if possible.” This being said, 
the tall man moved down a few steps, as if exam- 
ining the hedge for an open place to look through ; 
and now getting close up to the bushes, he pushed 
the tops of them asunder to look over in place of 
finding a hole to crawl through, and while the 
thorny bush was bent their pressure could be felt 
by James on his bare head. After straining his 
neck over the hedge to scan the turnpike road in 
both directions, the tall man stepped back into the 
field and said in a louder voice than before: “All 
right; hurry to the gate.” 

James now felt relieved from nis close shave, as 
well as the thorns that had pressed against his 
curly black head, though he still lay as quiet as a 
mouse in his cramped position to wait further de- 
velopments ; but the men were quick in their actions, 
for now something could be heard coming down 


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the field, and in two or three minutes from the time 
the tall man said ‘‘All right,” a covered wagon drawn 
by one horse passed by. 

James was satisfied now that both men had gone 
down the field with the intention of leaving the 
place; besides, he was satisfied in his mind that there 
were but two men in the party, so to watch their 
further movements he pushed his way through the 
hedge into the field, where he could see the wagon 
just leaving the field through a gate, which led into 
the main road. Mr. Raymond carefully followed 
down the field until he came to the gate through 
which the wagon had passed, and as he had not 
heard its movements, feared it was still in the road 
in front of the gate; but when he got near enough 
to see, there was neither wagon nor men, and now, 
going out into the main highway, he saw the mys- 
terious wagon moving slowly down the road without 
a sound. 

James could understand how a light wagon drawn 
by a horse over a surface of long grass could move 
without much noise, but it was some time before 
he could account for a horse drawing a wagon over 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


267 


a hard macadamized road without noise, yet this 
was made clear when the horse and wagon was 
found some days afterward without its driver. The 
wagon wheels had been covered with leather, while 
the horse’s feet were fixed in the same way. 

Young Raymond concluded there was some mys- 
tery in the actions of these men, but did not feel 
like investigating the matter any further that night ; 
and as the strange party had gone in the opposite 
direction to that which James had to travel home, 
he carefully noted the place and then started again 
on his journey around the turnpike road. 

James rested but little that night, thinking and 
wondering about what he had seen and heard. 
Though he concluded to say nothing about it to any 
person for at least a few days, at the same time he 
had made up his mind not to be seen passing that 
way. He could form no idea of the men’s strange 
actions, but which might be of such nature that 
should he make known what he saw he might be 
suspected of the crime with others whatever it might 
be, and this thought came with greater force into 
his mind when he remembered leaving his silk hat in 


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the hedge, which would surely be found. Every- 
thing moved along in its usual way the next day 
at the factory, and no alarm was given to anything 
strange happening in the neighborhood of the vil- 
lage, while James kept the mystery to himself, not 
even mentioning the matter at home, though his 
mother wished to know all particulars of his visit 
to the Bates mansion after he arrived home from 
the works the next night. 

It was three days after the party at Hedden Hall 
before Squire Bates put in an appearance at the 
factory office. This had given James no worriment, 
for he had little use for the Squire after satisfying 
himself that young Bates was deeply in love with 
Miss Baxter. 

It was the custom at the Bates works to pay the 
employees once a month, and usually on the Sat- 
urday nearest the fifth of each month. The pay roll 
for this purpose was brought by an express mes- 
senger from Newcastle on the same day, so that 
money was never kept in the factory office for one 
night. 

The night James was invited to the Bates man- 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


269 


sion was August 2, and three days after happened 
to be Saturday, which was pay day at the works, 
and on this day, at about the noon hour. Squire 
Bates drove up to the office door, and though James 
saw him coming, concluded to let him tie his horse 
himself hereafter, pretending not to see him until 
he walked into the office. 

Mr. Bates seemed excited in a way young Ray- 
mond had not seen him before. 

‘'Good morning, Mr. Raymond,’’ said the young 
Squire. “Has the money arrived for to-day’s pay ?” 

James saw a coldness in the Squire’s actions, and 
especially so when he was addressed as Mr. Ray- 
mond, while previous to this he was always ad- 
dressed by Mr. Bates as James, which sounded more 
friendly to him. So James, taking this as a cut, 
concluded to act just as short, and quickly replied : 

“No, sir; the money has not arrived.” 

“Well, I fear it will not be here to-day,” said Mr. 
Bates. “Did you see this,” handing James a New- 
castle paper and pointing to a large heading, which 
announced the robbing of the Marine Bank by a 
gang of desperate burglars, who escaped with every 


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shilling the bank contained, through which it had 
to close its doors for at least a brief period. And 
while Janies scanned the item, Mr. Bates said : ^^You 
know, James, that is the bank from which your 
money comes. Besides, my father is one of the 
principal stockholders, and no doubt this money 
will prove a great loss to him and an injury to us 
indirectly; but the hands of the factory, as well as 
the mines, will need their money this evening, and 
as they have never before been disappointed, it will 
be hard for them to go home without their wages 
to-day.’’ 

‘This is too bad, indeed,” replied James, as he 
realized the situation, and throwing down the paper 
said: “Well, Squire, what can be done under the 
circumstances ?” 

“I have no conception of a plan,” replied Mr. 
Bates. 

James said: “I have not been notified of this 
affair by the bank, while my check for the pay roll 
was sent four days ago, and this gives me to under- 
stand that the money will be here.” 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


271 


‘‘But/’ replied Mr. Bates, “it is usually here be- 
fore noon, and it is now past one o’clock.” 

There being no telegraph wires between the fac- 
tory office and the railroad station, which was about 
three miles distant, and to receive a message from 
the bank in time was impossible, for the men were 
paid off at three o’clock, the idea of sending the 
telegram to know whether or not the money was 
coming that day was thought useless by Mr. Bates. 

“We must have more time,” said James, “and it 
will not do to let the hands know the situation we 
are in, unless we are compelled to, for it is a well- 
known fact that when hirelings have any doubt as 
to receiving their wages on the very hour that it is 
expected they become careless and uncontrollable. 
So that whatever there is to be done, we must do 
it ourselves. We cannot even send a messenger.” 

“Well, have you anything to suggest?” 

“Yes,” sa'id James, “you go to Mr. Baxter and 
tell him there is a hurried order for coal, and to 
continue the work until sundown, which will be 
about seven o’clock this evening, and f will give 
orders to all hands in the factory to work an extra 


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half day with a similar excuse, after which we will 
meet here and see what can be done/’ 

Mr. Bates obeyed the order of the young super- 
intendent without any further remarks, and set out 
at once on his mission, while James hurried through 
the works telling those in charge of the various 
departments that he had just received a telegram 
ordering goods which were being made to be 
shipped at once, and requesting them to have all 
hands work until seven o’clock. 

The plan worked well, for the men had not the 
slightest suspicion of anything going wrong, but 
felt elated to think that orders were so plentiful 
at the office. Mr. Raymond and Squire Bates were 
soon back at the office, where they occupied the 
private room to talk over the situation. 

“What are your next orders for me, James,” said 
Mr. Bates in a tone which meant, “I am at your 
service, and all you have to do is to command me.” 

There is not much time to think,” said James 
in reply, “but let me take your horse and I will in- 
quire at the express office what delays the mes- 
senger. In the meantime you remain and stroll 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


273 


through the factory for an hour or so, which will 
have the effect of confirming my orders to the men.” 
This suggestion was put into practice at once, and 
James jumped into the Squire’s carriage and drove 
in the direction of the railroad station, while Mr. 
Bates did as he was told and started to walk through 
the factory. 

James had two thoughts in his mind as he drove 
away from the factory office, which gave him hopes 
of being able to tide over the difficulty; one lay in 
the fact that he had sent his requisition to the bank 
before it had been robbed, and as they were usually 
prompt in delivering the money to the express com- 
pany, he felt that the delay was due to them, through 
some accident or misunderstanding. His other hope 
lay in suspecting the men he had seen in the field 
of being the robbers of the bank, while their strange 
actions behind the hedge led him to believe they had 
buried the money there which they had stolen. So 
if the express messenger failed to arrive with the 
funds to pay off the hands, he concluded to go to 
the place where he had watched the strange actions 
a few nights before and look for the buried money 


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in the hopes that he might find it in time to pay off 
the men. 

James was correct in his first impression, as is 
usually the case in forming an opinion on anything, 
for before he had driven half the distance to the 
station he met the express messenger hurrying along 
with the money for the factory. James had no de- 
sire to enter into the question as to what caused the 
delay, but took the bag of silver and gold, giving 
the messenger a receipt for same, and hurried back 
to the factory with it, where he found the young 
Squire anxiously waiting his return. 

Mr. Bates was overjoyed when he saw James 
drive up to the office door with the bag of money 
by his side, for he knew the worst was over, and 
although he believed his father’s bank had lost 
heavily, there would be plenty of time to prepare for 
the next pay day. 

The young owner of the factory remained at the 
office that evening, and smiled with satisfaction as 
he watched James hand each man an envelope con- 
taining his month’s wages, after which he drove 


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275 


to Mr. Raymond's modest home, where he left James 
with many thanks. 

An alarm was sent out from Newcastle by the 
police in every direction to run down the bank rob- 
bers, but no trace of them was to be found up to 
that time, except the horse and wagon, which was 
supposed to have been used by the burglars, and 
after following every clue to the robbery for two 
weeks without any success, a large reward was 
offered by the bank for the capture of the thieves 
or recovery of the stolen money. 

The genius displayed by young Raymond under 
difficulties on so many occasions won such favor 
with the young master of the works that nothing in 
his power would be refused to James ; and now the 
Squire could no longer conceal the fact that he h'ad 
been deceiving James in his attentions to Miss 
Baxter, and fearing he might carry it too far, con- 
fessed his real object in paying his respects to her. 

The Marine Bank of Newcastle soon recovered 
from their loss and was doing business again before 
the end of the week. Although they did not give 
out a statement as to the amount stolen, it was 
supposed to be a large sum. 


CHAPTER XXIV. 


BECOMES A PARTNER IN THE FACTORY BUSINESS. 

Mr. Raymond had not as yet disclosed the actions 
of the strange men in the field to any person, but 
waited further developments, because he was now 
satisfied from the accounts in the newspapers that 
these men were the robbers of the bank. Besides, 
he wished to give the police and detectives ample 
time to trace the matter and receive the reward 
offered if they were successful. There was also an- 
other reason for this delay in making it known to the 
authorities, and this was due to what he heard the 
men say, while he lay concealed in the hedge, that 
they would meet one month from that night in the 
Blue Bell Tavern, and before that time, if the men 
had not been captured and the money recovered, he 
would investigate the place and make known what 
he had seen and heard. 

Three weeks had passed since the Marine Bank 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


277 


robbery, and James felt that he must act soon in 
the matter, so he asked Mr. Bates, as they met in 
the office, if anything had been discovered as yet 
regarding the bank robbery. To which the Squire 
replied : ‘‘Not a thing. It was the most clever piece 
of work of the kind in modern times, and there is 
little hope now of it ever being discovered.^^ 

“The amount stolen must be large,” said Mr. 
Raymond, “judging from the reward offered.” 

“Yes, James, the amount is so large that the di- 
rectors are ashamed to make it known, and although 
it is not to be made public, I don’t mind telling you,” 
replied Mr. Bates. “The bank is a large institution, 
as you know, and they always carried a large surplus 
in cash, and while it was not true that every shilling 
was taken, two iron boxes containing fifty thousand 
pounds each in gold sovereigns were missing from 
the vaults.” 

“Then one thousand pounds is not too much to 
offer as a reward for such a great loss,” remarked 
James. 

“Ten thousand would be none too much,” said 
Mr. Bates, “for the bank is rich and can well afford 


278 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


to pay a respectable sum for the recovery of such a 
large amount/' 

Mr. Raymond felt that it would be a critical mat- 
ter to explain how he got his knowledge of the 
buried money in case he found his supposition in 
the affair correct, because there are always some 
people who would endeavor to throw suspicion on 
even an angel where their name is attached to a 
crime. As he had many times come in contact with 
such persons, whose natures seemed to make them 
suffer at the very thought of their neighbor's for- 
tune or welfare, these thoughts made him think care- 
'fully before he acted in the case; but James knew 
that Miss Baxter could verify his statement when 
the time might come for him to explain how he 
heard the strange sounds of a vehicle on the evening 
he acted as her escort home from the Bates mansion, 
for she also had heard the strange noise. 

This thought prompted a plan for his action in 
the matter, which he knew would not only free him 
from suspicion, but gain for him the kind of pub- 
licity he most desired. 

The next morning Squire Bates drove to the fac' 


FROM PIT TO PAEACE 


279 


tory earlier than usual, and this time Mr. Raymond 
saw him coming down the lane that led to the fac- 
tory gate, and leaving the office as he formerly did 
went out and held the Squire’s horse until he 
alighted from the carriage. 

‘"James,” said Mr. Bates, “I have some news.” 

“Good,” replied James; “the money is found.” 

“No ; that kind of news would be too good to ever 
come true.” 

“I don’t agree with you in that,” replied the 
young superintendent, “for I am satisfied the money 
will yet be found.” 

“It is well to be optimistic in such things, but it 
is your nature, James, never to give up while there 
is any hope left. The news I have,” replied Mr. 
Bates, “ is from London, informing me that I have 
been admitted to the Bar, and now I am a full- 
fledged attorney and can begin to practise law at 
once.” 

“Allow me to congratulate you, Mr. Bates, on 
your success, and I trust you will win your way to 
the front rank among the great barristers of Lon- 
don.” 


280 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


“That would be a possibility, James,” replied the 
young counselor, “had I one-half the ambition and 
perseverance you possess ; but I will do my best and 
endeavor to follow your example in my undertak- 
ings. This will make a change for us all,” con- 
tinued Mr. Bates, “for our time will be spent prin- 
cipally in London, where the bulk of my father’s 
practice will fall into my hands, and after this you 
will have entire charge of the works, with no one 
to consult with ; and also for this additional respon- 
sibility imposed upon you you are to be made a part- 
ner with us.” 

This news was mutually good to the young men, 
to which James could not find words adequate to 
express his gratitude. 

“But I have not discharged you yet,” replied 
James, “so you are still in my employ, and I wish 
to send you on another message; but I will go with 
you this time, as it is an important matter and there 
is no time to be lost. I desire to go to the Baxter 
villa,” said Mr. Raymond, “and we will use your 
carriage.” So they jumped in and drove off with- 
out further comment. 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


281 


“I know what this means,” said Mr. Bates as 
they drove along the main road in the direction of 
the village. ‘‘You want me to confirm my state- 
ment to you regarding my attentions to Miss Sally 
in her presence, and I am willing to do so, though 
it will place me in an embarrassing position, for she 
is none the wiser of my real intentions.” 

“Well,” replied James, “I will not ask you to do 
that ; I see it would put you in an awkward position. 
But as we have started, we will make a morning call, 
for I have not seen Miss Sally since the night you 
sent me home with her from your house.” 

The young men were soon within sight of the 
Baxter villa, when the red tiles that covered the 
roof could be seen over the tops of the trees; and 
while Mr. Bates had his eyes in that direction, James 
watched the opposite side of the road, where he 
endeavored to pierce the thick hedge, in hopes of 
discovering his silk hat, which he had left in that 
locality more than three weeks before. After pass- 
ing through the long arch of trees, where they could 
look into the open grounds, the first objects that met 
their eyes were Miss Baxter and her mother walking 
through the flower-beds, who, hearing the sound of 


282 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


the squire's carriage wheels, looked in their direction. 
It is needless to say the Baxter ladies were surprised 
at their morning callers, though it was a pleasant 
surprise for them, as could be seen by the cordial 
reception the young men received. 

In order that they might have no suspicion as 
to the meaning of the morning visit, James ventured 
to say : “We are just out for a little morning drive, 
and we knew of no more agreeable place than this; 
besides, I have not seen Miss Sally since the night I 
delivered to her a lecture on astronomy." 

This caused a merry laugh all around, and then 
James added, “But the Squire was responsible for 
that." And while this was figurative language 
which they could all easily interpret, it led James to 
the business which was the object of his visit. 

Miss Baxter opened the question when she said : 

“How could you account for those strange sounds 
we heard that night, which were mistaken for Will- 
iam's carriage ?" 

“Well," said James," I had an experience before 
I arrived home that night, which I believe accounts 
for the mysterious noise; and now if you will all walk 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


down to the gate I will explain my experience; 
besides, I lost my hat that night, and might be able 
to find it.’’ 

Squire Bates’ horse being tied in front of the 
house, the carriage was left there, while the party 
walked down the driveway to the main entrance. 
But before leaving the flower-beds, Mr. Raymond 
picked up a small spade and carried it along, saying, 
“I will take this to illustrate iwhat I heard.” When 
they arrived at the main gate they stopped, and 
James began to recite his experience. 

“As I left the veranda that night to walk home 
I was as sure as anything could be that Mr. William 
Baxter’s carriage was standing here, because I 
thought he had not yet arrived home; and as Miss 
Sally and I distinctly heard the wheels of what 
appeared to be a carriage come this far and then 
stop, we could arrive at no other conclusion ; but we 
waited for some time, thinking he would drive up 
to the door at any moment. In this we were dis- 
appointed, when Miss Sally became frightened and 
went into the house. I was surprised on arriving 
here to find no carriage, and, looking up and down 


284 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


the road, could see nothing that looked like one, 
though the night was fairly bright. I at once con- 
cluded to take the shortest possible cut home, as it 
was long past midnight. To get into the field’’ — 
pointing to the opposite side of the road from the 
Baxter gate — ‘T could cross over directly to the 
commons, from which point I could reach home in 
a very few minutes; and, going directly across the 
road, I pushed my way through the hedge, with 
difficulty into the field.” And now taking the party 
over the road, he pointed to the place in the hedge 
where he went through. “When I was on the other 
side, I found myself in a ditch, though fortunately 
it was not wet ; but as I straightened myself up 
to take a survey of the hills at the opposite side oi 
the field, I saw something in motion at a little dis- 
tance further up the field and close to the hedge, 
which looked like a man. I concluded to conceal 
myself, if possible, and watch his actions, and to do 
this I had some difficulty, for I was compelled to 
pass through the hedge again, in order to get closer 
to the ntan in the field. In doing this I 
had to abandon my hat, which I left here some- 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


285 


where in the hedge, but which I cannot find.” 

James continued to explain the strange actions of 
the man, as well as the sounds which he heard, and 
then took them down to the gate which opened into 
the field, from which he stepped off fifty yards 
up along the hedge in the field. Here James 
concluded was about the spot where he heard 
the shovel, and although there was little to 
indicate any recent disturbance of the ground, he 
asked Miss Sally to use the spade and dig into the 
ground a little. It all looked like a fairy tale to the 
company with James, and as a joke Miss Baxter 
pushed the spade down into the soft earth, which 
showed her to be no novice as a gardener, while her 
mother and Squire Bates laughed at her actions. 
But suddenly the spade hit against something solid, 
and now Miss Sally began to think there might be 
something buried there, and at the same time the 
faces of those watching her actions became more 
serious. Miss Baxter was now sure there was 
something under her spade, and the next moment 
the corner of an iron box was exposed. This 
frightened Miss Baxter, who let the spade fall from 


286 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


her hands, saying, in a faint voice, have found 
something.” And now, the entire party becoming 
excited, James ran forward to support Miss Baxter, 
who had really fainted and would have fallen had 
he not quickly moved to her side. Squire Bates 
hurried back to the house and brought down the 
gardener in his carriage, who assisted Mr. Ray- 
mond in further excavating for the treasure; after 
which it took but a few minutes more to expose the 
two iron boxes that had been covered by only about 
six inches of earth. 

The weight of the boxes proved them to be filled 
with a heavy substance of some kind, for it required 
the efforts of the three men to lift one at a time into 
the Squire’s carriage. Squire Bates had been in- 
formed by his father that the money stolen from the 
Marine Bank was in two iron boxes, and although 
that was the only description he had, he was satisfied 
that those were the boxes and that they contained 
the bank’s money, because the surface of the iron 
was comparatively clean and just beginning to show 
signs of rust setting in. 

Miss Baxter, after recovering from her fainting 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


287 


Spell, was congratulated on finding the lost money, 
while Squire Bates said she was entitled to the 
reward and he would see that she got it. The two 
iron boxes were conveyed to the Bates mansion, 
where they were opened and examined in the pres- 
ence of Mr. Bates, the Squire’s father, who recog- 
nized them’ at sight. Besides, the gold was all there ; 
not a pound was missing. 

The news of this great discovery soon spread over 
the country, and hundreds of men, women and chil- 
dren could be seen for several days afterward, hur- 
rying from the surrounding country to view the 
place where the money was found. 

After the gold had been returned, safe and sound, 
to the bank in Newcastle, and the details of the dis- 
covery explained to the directors, they concluded 
that Mr. James Raymond, superintendent of the 
Bates factory, was the real discoverer of the stolen 
money; but when they offered him the reward he 
refused to take it, saying, ‘The honor belongs to 
Miss Baxter.” 

“Very well,” replied the president of the bank to 
James; “since you will not accept the reward we 


288 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


have offered, accept our thanks for the part you have 
taken in the matter and kindly deliver this to the 
lady you believe should receive it,’' at the same time 
handing James a certified check for ten thousand 
pounds. 

It is needless to say this was a pleasant duty for 
Mr. Raymond, who insisted on Squire Bates accom- 
panying him to share in the honors when the check 
was delivered to Miss Baxter. 

As all the money stolen had been recovered by the 
bank, young Raymond concluded to allow the rob- 
bers to escape, by saying nothing to the police re- 
garding the night they were to meet at the *‘Blue 
Bell” Tavern, where he could have had them cap- 
tured if he was so disposed ; and it was years after- 
ward before this fact was made known to the public, 
for he felt the robbers had been punished enough 
in not receiving a shilling for the risks they had 
taken and the work performed. 

In the fall of that same year Counsellor Bates and 
his family left Hedden Hall to live permanently in 
their London home, but they did not dispose of their 
Hedden property, for that was to remain in the 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


289 


family for generations to come, as it had been in 
the past. 

The use of this beautiful place was given to the 
Baxter family with the understanding that they 
were to occupy it as long as they lived. This mag- 
nanimous offer was accepted by Mr. Baxter, who 
vacated his own villa, and with his family immedi- 
ately occupied Hedden Hall, where they found the 
gorgeous furnishings of the place practically undis- 
turbed. 


CHAPTER XXV. 


THE MOMENTOUS QUESTION. 

It was now impossible to disguise the fact that 
James Raymond had a place deeper in Miss Baxter’s 
heart than any other young man in the whole world, 
for he now, more than ever, became the most wel- 
come visitor that was privileged to call on the Bax- 
ters at Hedden Hall; and it is needless to say that 
he paid many more visits than formerly to the beau- 
tiful grounds and mansion. There was still work, 
and perhaps the most critical of all his experience 
for James to do, in order to consummate in a success- 
ful manner the task which he had undertaken — to 
win forever the heart and hand of Miss Sally Baxter. 
And nothwithstanding the fame young Raymond 
had won throughout the community, there were still 
plenty of other young men who had not given up 
hopes of succeeding in the very same task. Miss 
Sally’s father was a shrewd and careful man, who 
ev^r had the welfare of his entire family at heart, 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


291 


as a good father should have. He was therefore ex- 
tremely careful as to the company or persons his 
daughter associated with, and from the fact that as 
yet he had not made objections to the attentions paid 
Miss Sally by Mr. Raymond, James felt that he had 
at least an equal chance with other young men. And 
now as the time must soon arrive when an interview 
on the important subject must take place with Miss 
Baxter’s father, James concluded that he would have 
to become a diplomat before such an important meet- 
ing. In the most trying and critical moments of 
a person’s life it is quite noticeable that the most 
dominating principles which nature has given to 
man, show themselves greater above all other qual- 
ities at such times. And this principle is well illus- 
trated in the tactics used by Mr. Raymond during 
many of his visits to the Baxters at Hedden Hall. 
As elsewhere stated the grounds surrounding Hed- 
den Hall were extensive, consisting of more than a 
hundred acres, practically all of which were en- 
closed by a wall of cut stone. In many places t.he 
wall had low arches through which flowed a spark- 
ling stream of water, being the overflow from 


292 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


a number of small fish ponds that were fed by a little 
babbling brook that had formed a miniature gorge 
^in the rear of the grounds, and whose ripplings, 
falling step by step on its way from the high por- 
tion of the premises, sent forth those sounds which 
nature alone can produce, warning lovers that the 
world is too lonesome for mankind to live alone. 
For hundreds of feet down the little gorge through 
which rolled the crystal mystery called water, whose 
temperature was always at a palatable degree even 
on the hottest summer’s day, owing to the constant 
shade of the great elm trees whose branches inter- 
wove each other from side to side of the stream. 

There were many beauty spots on which the visi- 
tor could feast his eyes when once within the rustic 
lodge gate of Hedden Hall, but for James Raymond 
the little babbling brook had a magnetic effect to 
which he would wander at every opportunity like 
a falling body seeking its centre of gravity. But 
what beauties could there be in a shady brook for 
any young man unless it was supplemented on its 
banks within view by a beautiful young lady? and 
James being a philosopher knew this, so he wasted 


t^ROM PIT TO PALACE 


293 


no time even in this charming spot when it was not 
possible to have some one else with him. There is 
never more chattering among birds than at the 
time when they are mating, as it is the most inter- 
esting period of their life, and to be dull at such 
times shows a lack of interest or enthusiasm which 
becomes distasteful to both sex. Mankind is no ex- 
ception to this rule, and as our young student of 
nature had studied these principles, he made good 
use of what knowledge he had by bringing to his 
aid the little babbling brook, the fish ponds, and 
even the fish in the ponds were utilized for the same 
purpose. 

James never lost an opportunity to stroll with 
Miss Baxter along these miniature cliffs in the rear 
of her father’s mansion, where the power, volume 
and velocity of the cataracts from one inch to five 
feet in height were figured out and explained. 

James frequently figured out for Miss Sally the 
number of gallons of water held by each pond, be- 
sides, he taught the young lady how to fish for trout, 
and never tired of baiting her hooks; thus time 
passed so rapidly that the hours were forgotten and 


294 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


the dusk of the evenings alone informed them that 
the sun had long since gone down behind the hills 
when the homeward journey would be taken by the 
longest possible route. 

On these little fishing excursions Miss Baxter 
baited her hook for the purpose of catching one of 
the most highly prized fish belonging to the finny 
tribe, the trout; but James, by her side, baited his 
hook for no other purpose than to catch one of the 
most beautiful girls belonging to womankind, and 
the art thus displayed brought success, for they both 
succeeded in their objects. It was now an open se- 
cret that Miss Jane Bates, the counsellor’s daughter, 
and closest friend of Miss Baxter, had become en- 
gaged and would soon marry one of her brother’s 
college chums, who since leaving college had taken 
up the study of chemistry and was now a noted 
chemist and Doctor of Pharmacy. 

This brought with greater force to- the mind of 
Mr. Raymond his greatest object in life, and as this 
little piece of secret news was an object lesson he 
would profit by it and do likewise himself. The 
young mechanic began to see that to be successful 


FROM PIT TO palace 


29i 


he would have to make good use of his time from 
now on, for if there is one thing more than another 
that college chaps acquire proficiency in it is how 
to make love quickly. They appear to lose all traces 
of timidity in regard to delicate questions. And 
this very thought brought the fact of it with greater 
force to the mind of James when he next paid a 
visit to the Baxter mansion; for here he was com- 
pelled to shake hands with no less than two young 
gentlemen whom he found on the veranda chatting 
with Miss Baxter and her father. These two young 
college men had arrived that morning from the city, 
and while neither made known his special business 
to each other, they were both there for the purpose 
of asking Mr. Baxter for the hand of his daughter, 
Miss Sally. 

The weapons which James Raymond had used in 
all his successes so far in life had to be brought into 
action again, and these consisted of quick natural 
wit and genius, which always sprang to his rescue 
in times of emergency. James here quickly read 
the thoughts of the two young visiting gentlemen 


296 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


and in this he was not mistaken as subsequent actions 
proved such to be true. 

James asked Miss Sally at once for one minute 
of a private interview, pretending that he had but 
a moment to remain as there was business of im- 
portance at the factory that required his immediate 
attention; the request was graciously granted, and 
excusing herself to the young visiting students, 
walked with James into the parlor. Miss Sally sur- 
mised what was about to take place, and although 
a timid young lady in many ways, she proved to 
have the proper courage when necessity required it. 
‘'Miss Sally,’" said James, “you know the mission 
of these gentlemen from the city?” “I believe I 
do,” replied Miss Baxter. “Well, I have no doubt 
as to that in my mind,” responded James, “and now 
is the time we must both act. My plan is to at 
once open the question with your father, and to do 
this I must have him alone. We both want his con- 
sent and we want it to-day, if possible. Go back on 
the veranda and entertain the young men, keep 
them so busy that they will not have an opportunity 
to see your father until I have finished my interview 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


397 


with him, and I will invite him for a walk through 
the grounds/' This plan was agreed to without de- 
lay and Miss Sally joined the two students from 
London on the veranda, while James took the arm 
of Miss Baxter’s father and began to stroll through 
the beautiful paths bordered with flowers of every 
variety, and shaded from the morning sun by the 
great branches of giant elms. 

After commenting on the beauties of shrubbery 
and the science of botany, which James avoided as 
much as possible, as that was no time or place to 
display his ignorance on any subject, the momen- 
tous question was finally opened by Mr. Raymond, 
who, after taking a long breath, said, “Well, Mr. 
Baxter, I suppose you know the object of my visit 
here this morning." The critical moment for James 
had at last arrived, and now a whole eternity of 
time for him lapsed during the next second. “Yes," 
replied Miss Sally’s father, “and although I have 
seen my threescore years and ten, I have not for- 
gotten the happy moment when Miss Sally’s grand- 
father said ‘yes’ when I asked for her mother’s 
hand." 


298 


FROM PIT TO PALACE. 


James was now too full for utterance and Mr. 
Baxter continued the conversation on the important 
subject that was to mean a lonesome life for at least 
one young man, or a life filled with joy and happi- 
ness. ‘‘I have known you long enough, James,” 
said Mr. Baxter, “to satisfy myself that you are the 
young man you pretend to be. I dislike pretension 
of any kind, and the young man who is straight- 
forward and honest in all his actions and dealings, 
though he never saw a college, is good enough for 
me, and now, James, you have my consent for the 
hand of my daughter.” 

One year had passed since the Baxter family 
moved into Hedden Hall, and in the early part of 
November of that year, the peasants of the village 
had their attention attracted by some unusual hurry 
and bustle going on within the stone wall that sur- 
rounded the beautiful grounds. The flower-beds 
were newly trimmed, the carriage roads received a 
new covering of fresh gravel, the low shrubbery as 
well as the tall elms were pruned, and Peter, the 
coachman, was seen at the harness-maker's, fitting 
a new set of gold-mounted harness to his horses — 


FROM PIT TO PALACE 


299 


all of which seemed to move in a hurry, and indicated 
that something unusual was alx)ut to take place. 
These hurried movements continued through the 
spacious grounds of Hedden Hall for several days, 
and even the interior of the house received special 
attention, as artisans of various branches were fre- 
quently noticed passing in and out of the big gate 
that led from the main highway to the premises. 

As usual in a small village, there was much gossip 
among the people as to the cause of these move- 
ments, and one more wise than the others said that 
Counsellor Bates was coming back from London to 
live at Hedden Hall; while another circulated the 
report that the Baxters expected Prince Albert to 
pay them a visit within a few days. But on the 
twenty-fifth day of the month the work seemed to 
be completed, for the beautiful grounds had a more 
charming effect than ever by the addition of hun- 
dreds of Oriental lanterns strung along in loops 
between the trees, and special poles being erected 
for the purpose. 

At about sundown that same evening, special car- 
riages could be seen coming up the main highway 


^ FROM Pit to PALACE 

from the railroad station after the arrival of every 
train from the City, and before eight o’clock not less 
than a hundred carriages passed in through the 
gates to Hedden Hall. The lights were burning 
brightly in the old village church, which had been 
decorated for the occasion, and after every seat was 
filled, from the sanctuary to the door, by invited 
guests, the organ began to vibrate the air with the 
strains of the Wedding March from “Lohengrin,” 
and at the same time Mr. Baxter and his daughter. 
Miss Sally, keeping step with the music, marched 
down the middle aisle. But there were others in 
tha march, and now came two young men who 
seemed to be in harmony with the music, for their 
steps were perfect. The young man on the left 
was Squire Bates, while the one on the right was 
James Raymond. 

The ceremony was short, and the music was sub- 
lime, but there was a change in partners as the 
principals marched to the music in leaving the 
church, for Mr. and Mrs. Raymond led the 
procession. 

THE END. 


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